Wednesday, January 03, 2007

Interesting Bible Reading Material

I recently received an email that I found very interesting about Bible reading. It stated that:
"the average person in the US watches TV about 4 hours per day. How different would this world be if instead each person read the Bible each day for a considerable amount of time? There is no substitute for people reading the Bible themselves. The Holy Spirit will speak to people as they read. I am challenging you to read the Bible daily and to influence those you know to do likewise. Perhaps you could challenge your neighbors and unchurched friends to read and have weekly small groups to discuss what they have read."
Since many people start a Bible reading program at the beginning of the year, I thought you might be interested in looking at some different tools. Bro. Arlo Moehlenpah, a teacher at Christian Life College when my wife attended, has a website with yearly Bible reading schedules for the following:
He says that a person needs approximately 15 minutes per day to read the entire Bible through in one year. There is also a 90 Day Reading Schedule for the Entire Bible. Depending on your reading speed, you can complete the Bible in 90 days by reading 45 minutes to one hour per day! He recommends that if you take this challenge you might want to read it in a modern English version. You can even listen to some versions being read in English and other languages at BibleGateway.com: a searchable online Bible in over 50 versions and 35 languages.

You can also test how much you have learned from your Bible reading on the Doing Good website. It is called Bible Quizzes. There is at least one quiz for every book of the Bible and quizzes from beginner to advanced levels on people, geography, and numerals of the Bible.

Let's take the challenge to increase our intake of the Word. We need it more than ever!

Tuesday, January 02, 2007

Five Things You Don't Know About Me

How can I ever thank Don Ryan enough for his thoughtfulness to include me in the latest "You're It!" marathon. Many of you reading this blog know everything about me, but here's a try:

1— I took 7 years of piano lessons in my childhood and cannot read music today! I hated reading the notes, so I pleaded to just learn the chords used in church. So, I have been known to play for a choir with music in front of me, without having any idea what all the lines and notes are. I just use the chords printed above all that junk!

2— At my graduation from High School, we had tongues and interpretation. Of course, I WAS attending our church school. The Lord told us, in short, that He is a lighthouse on the stormy sea of life and if we would follow Him, He would lead us to great things. I was valedictorian of my senior class of 4! I also had to give the obligatory valedictory oratory that night.

3— My hair is naturally bright red. I started dyeing it brown as I became a teenager to avoid the teasing from others. Not really - but it was much more red as a child and the freckles were very pronounced! I had adults, many times, stop me in stores to ask, "Where did you get those freckles from?" It really bothered me, but my Mom told me to tell them, " I swallowed a dollar and broke out in pennies!" It seemed to work. The outrageous question got an equally crazy response. My nickname was "Spot" at one time in my teenage years because of the sun spots. I prayed earnestly as a child that my hair would get darker and that the freckles would go away. God has answered my prayer, although my hair seems to be getting LIGHTER these days.

4— I have a crushed vertebrae in my back due to a car wreck I was in when I was 15 years old. As the truck rolled, I was thrown in front of it and the edge of the vehicle rolled over my back. I usually have no problems with it - except when I gain a little extra weight. It is a good deterrent to weight gain! Those who have known me for a while know that my head was scalped by a wrought iron mailbox stand in that wreck also. I now have a foot-long scar from my forehead to the back of my head. Thank the Lord that my hair has only turned lighter and not let go completely - another one of my prayers answered!

5— I once stepped on a snake, barefooted! I was about 10-years-old. My Dad and Mom were building a home in the country and I went running off the foundation into the grass. I felt something very cold and soft under my feet and looked down to see a bull snake about two inches in diameter. It scared me to death. I had no idea at the time what kind of snake it was. It was standing up and hissing! I went running back onto the cement, screaming, "It's a snake, It's a SNAKE. IT'S A SNAKE!!!" Quite an experience and I'm not looking to try that one again.

Now the plague must be passed on! I will gladly tag: my sis-in-law's, Linda Elms and Ronda Hurst, my cousin, Carla Clark, and friends, Lynn Dutton and Joseph Ouellette. Have a blast! You are IT and I will be checking your blogs to see if you cooperate. You can then pass the plague on to other 'friends' of ours.

Holley-day Pictures

We first enjoyed our own family Christmas in Pflugerville.
The boys and Cookie always pose in front of the tree before gifts are opened—
a picture that we take every year!
Karla gets very excited and makes it a lot of fun.
I don't get real excited and have been accused of being boring.

Then, we headed to Wichita Falls to have Christmas with our family there.
We were blessed to receive a MacBook laptop to help in our church and personally.
I put on my best smile - and it was real (if you are wondering)!

Chad enjoyed getting to see his old friends and playing basketball with them.

Cameron enjoyed the new XBox 360 that they received from Mom and Dad.
They were very excited, especially since all they really got from us was clothes!

I caught a picture of Mom and of Dad in there relaxing activities!

We had a great time and didn't even get a picture from Christmas dinner at the Elms'.
I think we were so excited about eating and visiting, that it didn't enter our mind!
..............ON TO THE NEW YEAR!

Sunday, December 31, 2006

Happy New Year!

Well, we have remained silent long enough. The 'Holley-days' have been quite exciting, but we haven't taken the time to blog about it. I will not go into all of it in this post - we'll post pictures and all later. We had an awesome service today with 25 (our biggest number yet) in attendance! We were so excited to have three first time guests today and Barbara, Joseph, David and Brandon Ouellette from Wichita Falls. The Spirit of God was so strong and moving in a special way.

We have named 2007, "The Great Adventure." The Lord brought an old song to mind in the past few weeks and it seems to fit where we are heading this year. Next Sunday will be our saddlin' up service!
"Saddle up your horses we've got a trail to blaze
Through the wild blue yonder of God's amazing grace
Let's follow our leader into the glorious unknown

This is a life like no other - this is The Great Adventure

Come on get ready for the ride of your life
Gonna leave long faced religion in a cloud of dust behind
And discover all the new horizons just waiting to be explored
This is what we were created for

We'll travel over, over mountains so high
We'll go through valleys below
Still through it all we'll find that
This is the greatest journey that the human heart will ever see
The love of God will take us far beyond our wildest dreams"
Our church is excited and looking for great things!
"No eye has seen, no ear has heard, no mind has conceived what God has prepared for those who love him" I Cor. 2:9 NIV
May God richly bless you and yours in the new year!

Sunday, December 24, 2006

Merry Christmas!

Just wanted to wish everyone a Merry Christmas. We are now in Wichita Falls celebrating with family after a good service this morning in Pflugerville. Have a great holiday!

Happy Birthday to Dad

Can you believe that my dad was born on Christmas Eve? I wanted to just take a moment and say a great big Happy 67th Birthday to him today! We always try to make sure and celebrate his birthday separate from Christmas. We were able to give him his very first birthday party for his 60th!

He is a wonderful dad who has always given himself to help others. What a blessing he has been to all of us. I watched him volunteer his time, talents and efforts to see a new church built in Wichita Falls years ago. He has given all of this and more to my family on many occasions. We have built three houses together and have had ample opportunity to see him lose his cool and have yet to see that happen. There have been times when he clears his throat real good and his voice gets a little shaky - it was then that I knew that we needed to take a break! The worst thing he has ever called me is a "blasted kid." I thought that was cussing! (That was in my teen years.)

I have been blessed. He is a man who avoids strife, who plows in season, who is of deep understanding, who is faithful and blameless…

3 It is to a man's honor to avoid strife,
but every fool is quick to quarrel
4 A sluggard does not plow in season;
so at harvest time he looks but finds nothing.
5 The purposes of a man's heart are deep waters,
but a man of understanding draws them out.
6 Many a man claims to have unfailing love,
but a faithful man who can find?
7 The righteous man leads a blameless life;
blessed are his children after him.

Proverbs 20:3-7

Happy Birthday Dad (Grandpa)! You are the best.

Friday, December 22, 2006

Jingle Bells is not as it seems...

I discovered today that the wonderful Christmas song, Jingle Bells, has a subliminal message in it! We hear it every year, but I now have the equipment to uncover it. You can go here to find out what I uncovered. My sons cannot believe the message!

Wednesday, December 20, 2006

Move that Bus!!

Well, we were there!! After our Sunday service and lunch at Panda Express, I convinced the rest of the family that we just HAD to go see if we could "see" anything. They had said the family would probably arrive home around 1:00 p.m. We arrived about 1:45, and they weren't there yet. It was quite warm out that day - I even watched as the medics were called over for a woman who was overcome by the heat. We were probably a spectacle to the others that were there since we were the only ones in "Sunday dress." I told the boys just to walk with confidence - they would probably think we were someone important. LOL! According to the newpaper there were about 3,000 people on the streets that day to watch - some people were even on their rooftops to get above the crowd.

Sometime around 2:30 p.m. "Extreme Makeover: Home Edition - Austin" came to an end. You could feel the excitement building as the crew began to take their places. They were shouting to each other and to the crowd - giving directions to those who needed to be in certain spots. When the "stars" came out of the house the crowd went crazy (whether or not you agree with their lifestyle, you do have to agree that they are accomplishing great things through this program).
(The picture above is Ty Pennington w/the spiky hair - the guru of the show. Below with his back to the camera in the striped shirt is Eduardo - one of the design team members. And below that picture is Paul, gray hair w/dark framed glasses - also a design team member.)

During the excitement several things were taking place: they rolled a brand new, stainless steel grill down the street and into the backyard, they started lining up the volunteers around the yard to be in place when the family arrived, the "stars" came out of the house and gave last minute instructions, AND they moved the bus in. They placed the bus right in front of the house to block the view from the family as they got out of the limosine. Not long after everything was in place, a beautiful black limo came quickly down the street and parked behind the bus (if you look behind the bus in the picture, you can see the front windshield of the limo).
The crowd was cheering and waving. Once the family was out, the crowd was again given instructions and began to chant, "MOVE THAT BUS! MOVE THAT BUS!" It was awesome.

We weren't close enough to see the family to get any pictures of them, but Gene and Cameron were able to see the father. He was wiping the tears away. We could only imagine the feelings they must have felt. They left their home on Monday, spent a week at a special camp for autistic children, and came home on Sunday to a completely different house.
(here are some side views of the house - we were not able to get to the front to take a picture)


They are not giving out details about the inside of the house to keep it a surprise for the shows airing in February or March. There is a link on our earlier post about this exciting event to the Austin American Statesman website. They have pictures and updates there. You can actually see the family up close when they first saw the house

Since we have built two homes, we can't even imagine how they could accomplish this in just six days. It was really awesome to get to watch this happen.

Monday, December 18, 2006

Christmas for Christ Service

This Sunday we had a wonderful time in the presence of the Lord. God was so near. We watched the video from the UPCI Home Missions Division and I spoke on how that the greatest things of God come in simple wrapping.

God really likes to give us His gifts in brown paper! The virgin birth in a barn, the bloody cross, and the Holy Spirit given with an outward sign of "craziness" - all seem so plain and almost undesirable at first glance. Trials, storms, and wilderness experiences can all seem so repulsive, but we must trust God. Out of these come some of the greatest blessings you will ever have.
1 Peter 4:12-13
12 Beloved, think it not strange concerning the fiery trial which is to try you, as though some strange thing happened unto you:

13 But rejoice, inasmuch as ye are partakers of Christ's sufferings; that, when his glory shall be revealed, ye may be glad also with exceeding joy.

Though our church is not a glitzy, beautiful package with all the ministries to offer-- yet -- the greatest gift in the world can be found inside!
The Savior, Jesus Christ.

We each brought our offering in a Christmas card, including our prayer requests for 2007. As each family or individual came forward, we laid hands on them and anointed them to do the work of the Lord. It was powerful!

We are thankful that our church can help another church somewhere in North America get started.

Also, the church surprised our family with a Christmas gift. Bro. Robertson was supposed to handle prayer requests and the offering. Instead, he asked our family to come. He began to cry as he expressed the appreciation that the people of the church felt toward us. It was so kind. We received a card filled with notes from church members and a $65 giftcard to Johnny Carino's!

Saturday, December 16, 2006

2006 Christmas Gathering

Sharon (guest who has come two Wednesday nights) and Karla

Wow! We are so excited about last night's Christmas Gathering.
We had six guests and a total of twenty-five.
Three of them, we had never met before! Our house was full!

Sheree Robertson, Kendra Younkin and Thea
(Robertson's neighbor we have been praying for)

Cameron and Ken (has come two Wednesday nights with Sharon)

Mike Crawford

We had lots of food. There were all kinds of soup:
Chicken Tortilla, Cheese,
15 Bean, Chili, and Potato.
All the trimmings and dessert were more than we could eat!

Karla and Sis. Thomas (Mike Crawford's mother)

Bro. Crawford's mother, Eddie Myrle Thomas (above), joined us!
She is so much fun.
Just after this picture was taken, she said, "Oooh, we got to sing, then I can go!"
So, Karla ended up on the piano and we sang Christmas carols.
I must say —she did awesome! Christmas carols are horrible to play,
but she found a book of lead sheets at conference and we invested in it.
It paid off.
Everyone lined up and began to sing....it was great!


While we were singing Silent Night,
I heard one of our guests singing in another language!
No, unfortunately, it wasn't the unknown kind, but it was German.
So, everyone wanted her to sing it alone. She was so kind and sang a solo for us!
That was really kind of neat, since Pflugerville is a German town.

And while we were singing,
Sis. Ruth's daughter started interpreting it in sign language,
so we had her come up to the piano and interpret as we sang it again.

Vivian

Donna (visited last Wednesday), Rhonda Cloud and Kendra Younkin

Everyone had so much fun!

Jennifer Crawford and DeAnna

We gave away a $25 gift certificate to Cheddar's as a door prize.
DeAnna (on right in picture above), a first-time guest, won it.
She told us that she is going to take a
blind friend of hers out for lunch to share her prize!