Randy Wilson

ECUADOR, part 2

2011-09-06T18:21:00.000-04:00

Here are some more pictures from my trip to Ecuador,

Waterfall coming out of the mountain

Walking around Salinas, notice how steep the streets are? The next picture..I just liked the paint job.

Notice the traditional dress, a lot of people dress traditional and some more modern.

Anyone hungry? Notice the GRILLED WHOLE GUINEA PIG on the menu?

Yes this is for real, no I was not that hungry.

More pictures of the country, beautiful!

Standing on the equator, one foot in the Northern Hemisphere and one foot in the Southern Hemisphere

Until next time, stay true to the Gospel.

ECUADOR

2011-09-01T13:07:00.000-04:00

Well I'm back from my trip to Ecuador, and I wanted to post a few pictures.

Mt. Cotopaxi, an inactive volcano, one of many.

A look at the land

Hauling milk to town

Farming anywhere they can, even and mostly on the sides of mountains.

Sigchos, in the high mountains

Some of the people of Ecuador

Market day, notice the beef in the background, just tell em what you want.

Busses run on all of their roads, they run fast, and accidents happen!

This one blocked our road for over 3 hours.

Driving above the clouds

The places on my heart, El Chaupi & Aloasi

Ecuador, a wonderful and beautiful place, a place to share Christ.

"GO AND TELL"

2011-08-04T12:22:00.001-04:00

As I am getting ready to go on another mission trip, I have to think back to the others that I have had the privilege to go on. The first being to Belize in 2006, this was my first mission trip out of the United States, a very exciting place.

Last year I was able to go to Namibia, Africa on my second mission trip out of the USA, we went to Outapi, Namibia, a far cry from Belize, from the coast to the desert.

Now I am getting to go to Ecuador, I will let you know how it goes.
If I am able to find a computer I might even post from Ecuador.
Until then, Later, Randy

MAY 11, 1970

2011-05-11T17:38:00.002-04:00

Dr. Pepper plant

May 11, 1970 will be a day that will live in my memory forever. I was just a kid living in Lubbock Texas, it was a day like many other in my short 10 years, but as evening came so did the changes. We noticed the sky, the color of it was unlike any that I had ever seen before, for that matter, I'm not sure that I have seen any like it since. It was the strangest color and look, and the air felt different, everyone could just feel that something wasn't quite right. In those days the early warning system wasn't much so we heard that a tornado had hit Lubbock, some say that several tornado's hit Lubbock. Homes were destroyed, lives were lost, everything changed that day.

Triple Decker under, over pass,
lowest level under water

People were trying to get out of the path of impending doom, so they drove their cars into underpasses, then the rain came so fast and the power went off that those in the lowest points could not get out and drowned.

Parts of the city lost power, some water, some parts of downtown were completely wiped out.

Motel

We had some friends that we went to church with who farmed, they showed up at our house and had lost everything, home, equipment, everything except their lives, they were in a storm cellar. I still remember the look in their eyes when we opened our door and they told my mom, "It's gone, it's all gone."

May 11, 1970, some things you just can't forget!

Great Plains Life Building, 1970

The biggest of the tornado's hit the Great Plains Life building, 50 stories high, when it was built it was said to be tornado proof. The tordado hit it head on, and it stood, it twisted, but it stood, and still stands today.

We have already seen many tornado's this year, 190 in one storm alone. When you live through one, you never forget it. We need to pray for those who have gone through them this year, those who are being flooded, and those of us here in Texas who suffer from no rain and wildfires.

Lubbock Church

EXCUSES

2011-02-23T15:52:00.002-05:00

“When you start to make excuses for your walk with God, soon, any excuse will do.

But when you really get serious about your walk with God, when He becomes the most important person in your life, you no longer make excuses, you just produce fruit!”

Randy Wilson

PERSONAL TESTIMONY

2011-02-17T09:34:00.001-05:00

So, at church I have challenged everyone to write their personal testimony out, it's not as easy as you may think. Before I went to Belize in 2007 I had to write out my personal testimony, only it had to be a certain length, because it was published in pamphlets that we used and handed out. I remember how I struggled with mine, there were a lot of details that I wanted to go into but didn't have the space, also I had to have all of the information about myself so that people in another country could understand who I was and where I was from. But it also had to be simple so that it would not confuse anyone. I added some scriptures on salvation so that if someone found on of the pamphlets they could find Christ through what I wrote.

Tommy Duffield started this by challenging the youth to write theirs, I took his idea a step further and challenged the whole church. Many people at Carey Baptist have stepped up to the challenge. Could you?

Here is my personal testimony....

Hello, my name is Randy Wilson; I am from Childress, Texas in the USA. You have most likely never heard of Childress Texas before and just so you know it is a long way from any large city that you might have heard of.

I am happy to be a guest in your beautiful country. We have come here to tell about Jesus, God’s only Son.

Before I trusted in Jesus I lived life as any other kid my age. My family always went to church; my mother took us to church and made sure that we were there. I wasn’t a bad person, I never did anything that would be considered bad, I was basically a good kid.

When I was a young teenager I went to church camp, church camp is a week long and young people go with their church and learn about Jesus. They will have music for the youth and speakers that know how to talk to them. I had been feeling that something just wasn’t right, and while I was at this youth camp and the preacher was speaking, I realized that I was lost and going to Hell. I knew that Hell was a lake of fire and I also knew that I didn’t want to go there. I knew that sin was anything displeasing to God, and I also knew that I had sin in my heart. I realized that night that just because my mother was going to heaven, that didn’t mean I was. Romans 3:23 says “for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God.” I knew that night that I had fallen short.

Romans 6:23 says “For the wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord.” I knew that I wanted that free gift that gives eternal life. Through the prompting of the Holy Spirit I went forward that night and asked Jesus into my heart. I asked Him to forgive me for all of the wrong that I had done. Romans 10:9 says “That if you confess with your mouth, "Jesus is Lord," and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved.”

Being a Christian and living for Jesus means more to me than anything in life, it means more to me than life itself.

I would like to ask you to accept this free gift today.

Well, what do you think? Let me hear from you.

MIXING RELIGIONS

2011-02-03T13:40:00.000-05:00

What is your first reaction when you think about mixing religions? What would you say if I said there are some who are mixing Christianity and Islam? They are calling it Chrislam!
According to a recent blog post from The Last Crusade, Memorial Drive Presbyterian Church in Houston, along with other congregations in Atlanta, Seattle, and Detroit, preached sermons and held Sunday school lessons on the founder of Islam, Mohammad, whom Muslims consider a prophet. Qurans were also placed in the pews next to Bibles.

Proponents of the movement, which has been dubbed "Chrislam," claim that Christians cannot love their neighbors without having a relationship with them.

A question, why is America running to embrace the very religion that attacked us on 9/11? With all of the violence in Egypt being caused by Muslims, and if these people take over we will lose an ally, if the wrong people (Hezbollah) are in control of Egypt, Israel will be in ever more danger. So why are so many Americans embracing it? The simple answer is that Christians have not shown Christ the way we should!

So should we mix Christianity and Islam? Chrislam?
Jesus said in Matthew 6:24, "No one can serve two masters, for either he will hate the one and love the other, or he will be devoted to the one and despise the other." (ESV)

We cannot serve Jesus and Mohammad, we cannot place them on the same level, Jesus is Lord!!! The Bible and the Quran on the same level, the Holy Bible is God's Holy Word!!! We cannot mix Christianity with any other religion, Christianity stands on its own, to mix it takes away from what we stand on. Paul faced the same thing in his day with people who were trying to say that you needed Jesus plus.... in order to really be saved. But Jesus said "IT IS FINISHED!!!" Nough said.

Join us this Sunday as we begin to take a look at the book of Galatians. See you at 10:45am.

WHAT'S ON YOUR MIND?

2010-09-14T14:17:00.000-04:00

Hey, I doing a survey, I want to know what concerns you. What kind of things are going on in your life that concern you, the things that you would like to talk about or need help with. Tell me about them. You can post them here or e-mail them to me at careybaptist@gmail.com or wilson.randal@gmail.com

Thanks and I hope to here from you soon.

JOAH

2010-08-17T18:05:00.000-04:00

OK, I have waited as long as I can. Here he is, my grandson, Joah Wilson Detwiler.

Here are all four of my grandkids.

Truly I am blessed. Thank You Lord!!

THE OLD CROSS AND THE NEW CROSS

2010-07-26T12:56:00.000-04:00

The old cross slew men; the new cross entertains them. The old cross condemned; the new cross amuses. The old cross destroyed confidence in the flesh; the new cross encourages it. The old cross brought tears and blood; the new cross brings laughter. The flesh, smiling and confident, preaches and sings about the cross; before that cross it bows and toward that cross it points with carefully staged histrionics - but upon that cross it will never die, and the reproach of that cross it stubbornly refuses to bear.

I well know how many smooth arguments ca be marshaled in support of the new cross. does not the new cross win converts and make many followers and so carry the advantage of numerical success? Should we not adjust ourselves to the changing times? Have we not heard the slogan "New days, new ways"? And who but someone very old and very conservative would insist upon death as the appointed way of life? And who today is interested in a gloomy mysticism that would sentence its flesh to a cross and recommend self-effacing humility as a virtue actually to be practiced by modern Christians? These are the arguments, along with many more flippant still, which are brought forward to give an appearance of wisdom to the hollow and meaningless cross of popular Christianity.
A.W. Tozer, God's Pursuit of Man

TIME

2010-07-22T12:16:00.000-04:00

Do you know what sad is? Sad is when you have a blog, twitter and facebook and no one reads your blog, follows you on twitter or facebook. And no I am not talking about myself, I'm just saying that would be sad. That would be like the kid no one would play with, not even his imaginary friend. I know that people read my blog and people follow me on twitter and I don't even have a facebook account, although I have been thinking about getting one, I'm told that it is a good way to keep up with people in your church. But that would require even more time, and you know what time is, time is the one thing that you can't recycle. Why is it that the things that are supposed to save you time cost you more time? Like cell phones, they are supposed to be a convenience, a device that saves you time, something to make life better, but it seems like people always have one stuck in their ear, talking to everybody about everything. Computers are suppose to be a time saving device but people sit on their computers for hours a day, at work, at home, laptops in the car, in the park or anywhere else you go. Spending time on facebook, twitter, blogs, watching movies, skyping and sometimes working. And after all of this, no one sits and talks face to face with family and friends. Are we losing the art of communication? In the movie Wall-E (see another movie) humans never talked to each other, they were all glued to their computers. How far are we from that? I have started helping out hospice as a chaplain and one of the most important things that we do is listen. Way too many of us have lost the art of listening, if we do talk to people we want to be the one talking, but good communication skills require listening. I think that too many of us are too busy to listen, listen to the birds sing, listen to God, listen to each other, listen to our kids or grandkids, or even listen to our own bodies. I love to listen to my grandkids, Zoe talks a lot, most of hers is in Greek, Eisley is talking more and more and getting more plain, Mia talks and has great things to say. All of them love to sing, Mia is never off pitch, Eisley sings very pretty and at the nursing home service the other night Zoe was singing Amazing Grace, the words were Greek but she had the tune and timing down pat.
We need to take time to talk face to face, look people in the eye, look your kids and grandkids in the eye, you might like what you see, love. Or you might see pain and the need to help. Take time to look and listen.
Anyway, I'll talk to you later, on my blog, or by twitter, and if I see you; face to face.
Have a Blessed Day! Remember, God loves you so much that He sent His one and only Son to die for you, and His Son, Jesus, loved you enough to do it willingly, Jesus loves you. Bye for now.

BLOGGING???

2010-06-29T11:21:00.000-04:00

Is blogging a thing of the past? Just hear me out, it seems that some people still blog a lot and some people read them, but it also seems that alot more people are using twitter and facebook and other forms of communicating rather than blogging. So my question is, Is Blogging a thing of the Past?
And another thing...why is it that most of the responses I get are in some weird form of type? Maybe these are words that I don't allow on my blog. Maybe I will respond to them with scrpiture!
Let me know what you think.
Until next time....

JUNE 1st/ THE MOWER SAGA

2010-06-01T13:43:00.000-04:00

Well the Mower Saga has taken a new twist. They adjusted the valves, had them just right, started the mower up and it knocked real loud. Pulled the valve cover off and the rocker arm bols had backed themselves out. Ended up having to buy a new head for the motor because the rocker arm bolts were stripped out, so the valves could not be adjusted where they would hold. Got that put on, the mower started up, ran great, no more smoking, turned it off and it would not start again, the compression valve inside the motor was shot and in order to replace that the motor must be taken out turned upside down and torn apart and so while the motor is apart you might as well rebuild the entire motor, and by that time it will cost as much as a new riding mower, so.......I bought a new riding mower. 2 horsepower more and it starts every time, tires don't have to be aired up every time I need to mow, turns in less space, you know, it's just newer and better.
So my mower saga has come to a close..I hope.

MAYDAY, MAYDAY

2010-05-01T12:24:00.002-04:00

Well here we are, the first day of May and you will never guess what happened to me on the way to the yard....let's just say that my mower is now in the shop. Maybe they can figure out what is going on with it, maybe the valves are out of adjustment or it is out of time or maybe.....I don't know. Anyway, I didn't get to go over my yard again and by the time it is fixed I will be behind a jungle again, but, it's all good.
So how is your spring going???

END OF APRIL

2010-04-30T10:19:00.005-04:00

OK, so it's been a while since I have posted anything, sometimes I feel like I have nothing to say, which sounds weird since I am a preacher, but sometimes I feel like I am just out of words. So what's going on in my life these days? Well I've been taking more seminary and I have finals coming up on Wednesday and I'm not sure that any of it stuck if you know what I mean. I took the class and learned a lot but I'm not sure about the final test, but if I study enough this week I'm sure I will pass. The trouble is that I have been making straight A's and I feel the pressure to get another one. This is a new problem for me, when I was in school (when I was younger) I felt good just to pass, but I never studied, I never saw the need until I was taking the test. But now I am applying myself and doing well, but since my surgery my brain doesn't seem to work as well, just an excuse? Maybe, but it's the best I have. So pray for my memory recall.
This is the end of April, tommorrow is May 1st, MayDay. Back when the kids were born we lived in Colorado and I worked an a large farm and I would grow a beard every winter to help with warmth, and every year on May 1st I would shave it off. Why is this important??? I have no idea!
We are still waiting on the birth of our first grandson, he will be here the last of July or early August. His original due date was August 11, my birthday and I thought that that would be a great birthday gift, but now they, the doctor, have moved it up. But one thing that I know is that whenever he gets here it will truly be a gift from God. And he will be a good addition to our three grandgirls, life just keeps getting better.
Well this weekend should be quieter that last, we set up the inflatables (Buncha-Jumps) in the park last Saturday for Keep Childress Beautiful day and had lots of fun with all of the kids. We will be setting some up at Lots in a couple of weeks, come on by and join us.
Well, last week we were in Denver to see Becky's cancer doctor and she is still in remission, ma that's a good word!! The week before we went to Lubbock to see my cancer doctor and mt PSA is still 0.0, just like it should be. Both are good news, her cancer is under control and mine is gone, the only thing that would be better is if her's was gone also...
For someone who didn't have much to say I sure said a lot, but now all of my words are used up for a while, do you believe me?
Well I'm getting ready to go mow my yard again, I worked all day this past Monday on it. We had been gone and it rained for days so it had grown up, a lot. I never did get it sprayed for weeds so everything is growing really good. On Monday I edged and ran the trimmer, cut on some trees and then worked on my mower for a couple of hours before I got it started. I was able to use the grass catcher on the front yard but not the back, so I am going to attempt to catch the back yard and hope that it doesn't plug up the catcher. Anyway, I think that the grass is dry enough and if I can get it done today I can do it on Friday's as I like to do. So here I go..........

A DOG'S LIFE?

2010-03-02T12:00:00.009-05:00

After reading Amy's blog I realized that I also had not blogged in a while, and while she related her blog to a relationship I thought that if I were hired to do this I would get fired. so I had to add my Donald Trump dog......

People ask me all of the time how I am doing and how Becky is doing, so let me try and catch up. I am doing better everyday and I am cancer free; I am getting back into the gym and working on my weight again. When I first went back into the gym I had some really weird pains but those are all gone and so I am trying to get more serious about my weight loss. I had lost 47 pounds before my surgery and gained a few pounds back in the weeks following, but now I am back to working on it, I would like to lose another 50 pounds. I just don't seem to have the same intensity that I had before, what I need to do is get the same mindset that I had before, I just need to say in my mind and out loud, "I'm not allowed to have that" and stick to it, instead of allowing myself to eat all of those foods that I really enjoy. But something that I noticed while I was not eating all of my regular foods was that I stopped craving those fat greasy foods, and when I did eat some I felt bad. Cleaner foods make me feel cleaner I guess. Any way I just need to make myself get up and go to the gym and eat right.

So when I feel like a lazy dog.....
I just need to get out and run....
or at least walk a couple of miles a day.

Becky is doing well with her cancer, doing her treatments every week, when she misses a treatment, it shows up again, so she continues with the treatments, most likely for the rest of her life. She is home today not feeling well, she has some sort of weird stomach thing (DON'T SHARE WITH ME!).

Anyway, considering all, we are doing good. So here is an update, enjoy, the way I am it might be a while before the next one.
See ya.

FOGGY SUNDAY

2010-01-31T10:00:00.002-05:00

Well here I am at church on a foggy Sunday morning, roads were not too bad coming out this morning, although we do have freezing fog, but our parking lot still has a lot of ice patches that are not safe. So why am I telling you this? Because after I got out here, I was informed that we were not having church today because of the conditions. So, what's a preacher to do on Sunday morning when he is all dressed up and no place to go? Do I go back home, go to another church and listen to another preacher, it just seems weird. The churches in town cancelled Sunday school to give it more time to clear off, but when the ice gets some sun it will be worse.
I think that most people will not go today because the whole town lost power this morning, it's back on now, but a good excuse. Becky and I took our showers by candlelight, she is back at work again today. South Plains has been working around the clock since Thursday morning, she went to work at 7am Thursday and came home 7am Friday morning, slept for 3 hours and went back to work, came home at 10:30pm. Went back to work at 9:30am and came back home at 12:30am, and went back to work at 8am this morning. Since Thursday morning she has worked about 50 hours, but at least she got to come home and sleep. It's days like this that the linemen don't get paid enough, at least Becky gets to work inside the office, not out in the cold like the linemen.
So what should a preacher do on a Sunday when church has been cancelled?

WILSON CHRISTMAS

2010-01-25T19:18:00.005-05:00

We had our Wilson Christmas this past weekend, I know, it a bit past Christmas but it worked. Most of us were there, Jody and Sarah could not make it, Vanessa And Robert also could not be there, but the rest were.

We did the Chinese Christmas, where you can steal another person's gift. We also had the returning gag gift, a pair of Uncle Troy's shorts.
And guess who got them???

Carolyn!!! Whoever get's them has to model them, add something to them and bring them back the next year.

Becky got them last year, so she added a Broncos patch to them.

Ashton and Cooper got trucks.

A big hit!!

Hey Lisa, show us how you really feel.

8 GOOD THINGS ABOUT LOSING WEIGHT

2009-12-04T10:53:00.002-05:00

Yesterday I listed 8 bad things about losing weight, so today I am going to list 8 good things about losing weight.

8. I don't look like Santa Clause anymore!!!!
7. All of my clothes are baggy, I get to buy new clothes. (So far I have been mostly wearing smaller clothes that I had in my closet.)
6. I Lost my Belly Table
5. Everyone asking me if I feel better. (It's a great feeling for people to notice.)
4. I lost a fat roll on the back of my neck. (It was really bugging me, glad it's gone.)
3. I am beginning to look like I used to think I looked like.
2. I can do a walk/run for 2 miles, (before surgery, kind of sore right now).

And the number 1 good thing...........

1. I can bend over and tie my shoes, (before surgery, still sore).

So now you have seen my good and bad list, do you have any?

8 BAD THINGS ABOUT LOSING WEIGHT

2009-12-03T13:40:00.003-05:00

As I stated yesterday in my blog, I have lost 47 pounds so far, my goal is to lose at least 53 more, that will make it an even 100. Also another goal is to get down to my goal weight and run in a 5K, I don't know why because I never did like to run. Zach just ran in the marathon in San Antonio and then he ran in the Jingle Bell 5K Run here, so Zach runs and Sarah runs also. So I thought that it would be cool to run a 5K with Sarah and Zach, but then after my surgery the other day Amy told me that she and Jody would also run with me, at least I think she did, I wasn't really all there.
Anyway, today I wanted to point out 8 bad things about losing weight, are you ready??

8. I don't look like Santa Clause anymore. (HO, HO, HO)
7. All of my pants are baggy (they are 3 sizes smaller, but baggy)
6. I lost my belly table!! (Allow me to explain, before I lost weight I could sit in my recliner and set my plate on my belly and eat, now it falls off.)
5. Everyone asking me if I feel A LOT better. (I know that I do but I don't really think about it.)
4. I get cold easier. (I lost my insulation!)
3. My Glasses slip off of my face. (Since I lost weight my glasses don't stay up as easy.)
2. My Wedding Ring fits on my middle finger now!!

And the Number 1 bad thing about losing so mush weight..............

1. MY TAIL BONE HURTS! (I lost the padding around my tail bone and when I sit very long it HURTS!!)

OK, so maybe these are not all bad things, but my tailbone still hurts. Maybe tomorrow I will list the good things about losing weight.

PROSTATE CANCER

2009-12-02T20:28:00.003-05:00

Well, on Monday I had surgery to remove my prostate. As you remember I was diagnosed back in June with prostate cancer and we chose to have the prostate removed. So on Monday morning, at 5:30am we went to Covenant Hospital in Lubbock and Dr. Vallabhan removed my prostate using the robotics. Unlike when I had my hand fixed, they were able to get my IV on the first stick, so everything started on a good note. The surgery was supposed to begin at 7:00am but the surgery crew had an emergency early so they were a little bit late getting started on me, but not much. The surgery took 3 hours and I was asleep over 5 hours, and woke up with 6 holes in my stomach. The doctor also removed some lymph nodes and sent them off to be checked but said that he thinks that he got all of the cancer. So I am home recuperating and doing nothing for 2 weeks, and very little for 6 to 8 weeks. This is only Wednesday and it is already getting old.
When I checked into the hospital I had to weigh in and I have lost a total of 47 pounds, if you ask my wife she will tell you how many sticks of butter that is (that's just gross). Anyway I am home trying to heal up, so respond to my blog and maybe I will keep you updated.

NOBEL PRIZE

2009-10-09T16:07:00.003-04:00

So what do you think about our president receiving the Nobel Peace Prize?
So far, I haven;t seen anything that he has done. He is pushing through a hate crimes bill that will outlaw what we think and say. Thomas Jefferson said the legislation should extend as far as action and not thoughts.
Obama is trying to push through a government run health care, because the government is doing so well with everything else it runs, a health care that most Americans don't want.
So what has he done to earn this prize?
Rush Limbaugh said, “The Nobel gang just suicide bombed themselves. Gore, Carter, Obama, soon Bill Clinton. See a pattern here? They are all leftist sell-outs. George Bush liberates 50 million Muslims in Iraq, Reagan liberates hundreds of millions of Europeans and saves parts of Latin America. Any awards?” Limbaugh says “Obama gives speeches trashing his own country and for that gets a prize, which is now worth as much as whatever prizes they are putting in Cracker Jacks these days.”
Some are saying that Obama is already passing Carter on being the worst president ever. And then of course, some love him and believe that he could do no wrong.
But the Nobel Peace Prize??

What do you think, has he earned it, do you think that he will, do you think that he is the worst president, best president or just OK.

One thing that I do know, he needs our prayers.

ADVENTURES IN SURGERY

2009-09-30T16:46:00.002-04:00

I had surgery about 3 weeks ago, had carpal tunnel surgery on my right hand. The adventure began the morning of surgery. Anytime that I have surgery it is always an adventure to have an IV started. When I had my heart cath it took them 5 or 6 tries to get it, but when they did my carpal tunnel, 4 different people tried to get my IV started, for a total of 15 sticks. I just knew that if I were to drink any water I would look like a sprinkler. On the 15th try, I was told that it was in successfully, but judging by the pain going up my arm and down into my hand I told them that it wasn't, of course I was told that I was wrong. Within a few minutes my arm was getting larger and tighter, the IV fluids were going into my arm but not into my vain. Soon a shot was given to me through the IV to relax me and make me go goofy, it didn't work. When I was wheeled back into the operating room I was asked if I was feeling relaxed, I said no because it didn't go where it was supposed to. I was told that they were going to give me a shot to knock me out, it didn't work either. Now if the IV is in correctly, when they give me the shot to relax me, I go to sleep, so when the knock-out shot didn't work I was given a shot in the arm and the gas mask was applied. I was told to breath deep, I was beginning to think that that wasn't going to work either when I noticed all of the noises in the room getting longer.
And then I woke up, hand all fixed and wrapped up. And now...typing good, no pain.

MORE B-DAY PICS

2009-09-05T08:46:00.004-04:00

Here are a few more pics from the big 50 party.

UPDATE

2009-09-02T14:54:00.002-04:00

When it rains...
Well I went to Lubbock to see another urologist and he said that I still have prostate cancer but we are not in the rush to get it done. My Gleason's score and my psa are both low, so I have more time to get more weight off. So far I have lost 20 pounds and I need to lose another 45 before he operates. So I am working hard to become less and less of a man. I lost the first 20 just by changing my diet, no breads, chips, sweets, pastas, nothing white or fried and lots of salads. My goal is to become 1/3 less of a man.
On Tuesday I am having the carpal tunnel fixed in my hand fixed, this has hurt me for a long time, and I fell in November last year and made it worse, now it's getting so that I can't use it much. I decided that if my prostate surgery was going to be a ways off, I might as well get my hand fixed.
So now you have an update on me, what about you?

A CLEAN HEART

2009-08-18T11:00:00.004-04:00

Well I had my heart cath on Friday. When I went in the first time to see the heart doctor, I was supposed to see Dr. Friesen but he had hurt his back and was in the hospital, so I saw his associate Dr. Huq. When I went back for my stress test I was told that Dr. Friesen had surgery on his back, so I was expecting Dr. Huq to do my heart cath. As I was laying there waiting this older man walks in and begins talking to me and I asked him if he was the anesthesiologist, he said no I am Dr. Friesen. So I had the master doing my heart cath. He went in and I laid there talking to him during the entire process. He checked my entire heart, kidneys and everything else he could check and said that everything was clean and in great shape, especially for a 50 year old man. Thank You God!! So they inserted a collagen plug into my femoral artery and an hour and a half later I was going to my motel room.
Prayer were prayed and answered. Thursday before we left all of the deacons from Carey and 7 deacons from FBC came to our house and prayed for Becky and I and prayers were answered, Thank You.
I am going to Lubbock for a second opinion on my prostate cancer, and my prayer now is, "You don't have cancer after all."
So continue to pray, as prayers were answered, prayers can be and will be answered for me and for you.
So what is the answer that you need from the Lord? What is the need in your life? Wouldn't it be great to have needs and prayers shared here on this blog?
Hope to hear from you.

HAPPY BIRTHDAY!!

2009-08-13T11:51:00.007-04:00

Here are some pictures from the big birthday party at the farm. My Grandparents bought the farm the same month I was born. So we both turned 50. This first one is of my brothers and me.

Good food and Family, Becky and Sarah (yum)

Wanna and Carter

Huck and Dan

Van, Carter and Huck

The Castleberry's; Carter, Kim and Hannah

Susan and Jacob

Hannah

Dani and Lisa

Ashton, Cooper and Eisley

Alli Belle and Mia

Vancal with Zoe and Cooper

Carter and Eisley

Zach and Zoe

Sarah and Zoe

The two Cakes that Amy made

Yes I am dandy

The brand J-V

Courtney with Zoe

Cooper Davis Wilson

Lance

Thank You to everyone who came to the farm, it was a great day with family. Everyone had a great time!!.

More Doctors part 2

2009-08-04T13:56:00.006-04:00

This is an update for the last blog, went to see the heart doctor, he now says that I am not getting enough blood flow to the lower part of my heart. So that means that I will have to have a heart cath on the 14th so that he can go in and see what is going on inside and put in a stint if necessary. Just more activities to add to my fun list. I am waiting on my appointments in Lubbock to get a second and maybe third opinion with another urologist and an oncologist. Fun, fun, fun.......
And on top of that....I turn 50 on the 11th. Happy Birthday, here let us cut on your leg and put a cath into your heart, does that hurt, let me try harder, does it hurt now? Good, Happy Birthday!!
O here, I have a present for you too, here let me cut your gut open and fish around for your prostate, feel good? NO, Happy Birthday!!
On a more serious note, we are having a big family party on the 8th at the farm. My grandparents bought the farm the year I was born, so we both turn 50 this year...Now that will be fun!! There should be about 30 of us out there and I am looking forward to it. The doctor wanted to do the heart cath on the 8th but that would have interfered with the farm birthday, so he gets to wait an extra week. Happy Birthday to me, Happy Birthday to me, Happy Birthday you hunk o' handsome dude......well someone has to sing it correctly. Right?
Have a Great day!!

More Doctors

2009-08-02T23:27:00.003-04:00

Off to see the heart doctor tomorrow, I went in for a stress test last Tuesday and the doctors nurse called Friday and said that they found an abnormality and that I needed to be up there Monday morning at 9:30. So now we get to go back to Amarillo, again, and see what wonderful news he has for us. I am planning on going to Lubbock for a second opinion on my cancer, just want to see what someone else has to say about it. Anyway, I guess we will deal with the heart issue, whatever that is first. And then deal with the cancer, but I want to know which way we are going to jump.
Some good news though, I have been working on losing some weight, and in the past two weeks I have lost, as of Friday, 14 pounds. I guess something good comes out of everything, when this is all said and done I am determined to be 200 pounds. Skinny Man!!

MAY THE FOURTH BE WITH YOU

2009-07-08T13:25:00.002-04:00

We had a great 4th of July 3 day week-end, we relaxed, cooked out, made homemade ice-cream...well OK, that was Sunday evening. Friday I spent all day in the yard trying to get it back in shape, edging, weed-eating, trimming, mowing, Becky had the day off so she worked on cleaning her house.
Saturday was a BIG day. Friday evening we loaded up all of our Buncha-jumps inflatables, blowers, cords and generator (thanks Jerry H.). And then we were at the park at 7:30am on Saturday (Zach, Amy and I, Becky stayed with Zoe) and started setting everything up. You can see the pictures on our Buncha-jumps blog, www.bunchajumps.blogspot.com. The park opened at 9:00am. We sold armbands for $7 each for all day, and we were busy all day.
We started taking everything down about 3:00pm, the temp was 105, and everything was HOT!!!! I had been out in the heat all day, and I guess because of my cancer I was hurting so bad and was so sick that I could not even help load. The only thing that I could do was drive the pick-up so the inflatables could be loaded. Zach's mom and dad were at Zach and Amy watching Zoe, Zach dad Randy Detwiler came out and help pack up and load (Thank You So Much). So with his help, Zach, Amy and Becky loaded everything up.
We then went to Zach's to unload, Zach, Randy, Jason (Zach brother) and I unloaded before the storm hit. I then went and unloaded my truck, ice chest, lawn chairs and generator. A long day? Yes.
But the day wasn't over yet, Becky had cooked a brisket, so Zach, Amy, Randy Selina, Becky and I ate supper and played Joker. Had a great time, the guys won.
The fourth was a great day.
The fifth, had a great service at church. And then Jody, Sarah, Mia and Eisley came in, we cooked out and made home-made ice cream.
All in all, A great 3 day week-end.

How was yours? Let me know!!

JUST THE FACTS MA'AM

2009-06-30T11:55:00.003-04:00

Just an update and a few facts about my cancer.
The fact is that this is not something that I am looking forward to, but it is something that I must have done in order to continue living. Dr. Pate said that if this had not been found or if I choose not to have it taken care of, I might live to my mid fifties. Considering that I am 49 now and will be 50 in August, that doesn't leave much time. However, if I do get it taken care of I should have 20 or 30 more years. Let me think about this for a minute.....5 years.....20-30 years.....
Dr. Pate went over everything with us, all of the different procedures, none of them sound like much fun, radiation from the outside will take who knows how long and the side effects are not good, radium seeds implanted into the prostate won't work so good for me because my prostate is only 18 centimeters, a man my age it should be about 23, to get enough seeds into it, it needs to be at least a 30.
To have it removed the old fashioned way will require being opened up from stem to stern. And then there are robotics where they go in through 4 small holes. Either way the surgery is a BIG DEAL. It is a major surgery with many risks, but God is a BIG GOD. I am not down nor depressed regardless of what the rumor mill says. Becky and I have been through so much over the recent years that we know God will see us through, and if He chooses to let it all end, just remember "For to me to live is Christ, and to die is gain." Phil 1:21 (ESV)
We are confident that we can take care of this and not have to do any other treatments such as radiation. One thing, we can have this removed and then have radiation if needed, but if we do radiation first the prostate can not be removed later because of damage the radiation does. So hopefully I can get by without further treatments, unlike my wife who will have treatments for her cancer the rest of her life.
Did you know that more men are diagnosed with prostate cancer each year that women with breast cancer? Do you know how important it is for men to have blood drawn and their PSA checked? Also did you know that prostate cancer runs in families? Did you also know that Grandad Wilson had prostate cancer, it was found when he was older and because of his age it was left alone. Get your PSA checked guys, it could save your life!!!
Anyway there are a few of the facts, and I want to leave you with the words of the Apostle Paul;
"You won't see us drooping our heads or dragging our feet! Cramped conditions here don't get us down. They only remind us of the spacious living conditions ahead. 7 It's what we trust in but don't yet see that keeps us going. 8 Do you suppose a few ruts in the road or rocks in the path are going to stop us? When the time comes, we'll be plenty ready to exchange exile for homecoming. 9 But neither exile nor homecoming is the main thing. Cheerfully pleasing God is the main thing, and that's what we aim to do, regardless of our conditions. 10 Sooner or later we'll all have to face God, regardless of our conditions. We will appear before Christ and take what's coming to us as a result of our actions, either good or bad."
2 Cor 5:6-10 (MSG)

PROSTATE CANCER

2009-06-25T12:17:00.003-04:00

Well it's official, we are now a two cancer couple. Becky with her Mycosis Fungoides and now I have been diagnosed with prostate cancer. 3 of the 6 biopsies on the left side came back malignant, the left side was also the one that was kind of hard and was also dark. So it all makes since, don't like it, but it all adds up.
So tomorrow, Friday, we will be in Amarillo and we will go see Dr. Pate along with the 3 doctors Becky has to see. It will be a busy day, but......

I am here at the church working alone, which is good. Everyone wants to know how I am doing, I'm alright. I was kind of prepared for it, knowing the color and hardness of it. God knows what He is doing, He is just giving us more opportunities for ministry. Just look at the people we can relate to now that we couldn't before.

Anyway, it'll all be good. Just remember
OUR GOD IS AN AWESOME GOD.
HE REIGNS FROM HEAVEN ABOVE.
WITH WISDOM, POW’R AND LOVE, OUR GOD IS AN AWESOME GOD.

When the music fades, all is stripped away and I simply come.
Longing just to bring something that’s of worth that will bless your heart.
I’ll bring you more than a song, for a song in itself is not what you have required.
You search much deeper within through the way things appear.
You’re looking into my heart.

I’m coming back to the heart of worship and it’s all about you,
all about you, Jesus.
I’m sorry Lord for the thing I’ve made it.
When it’s all about you, all about you, Jesus.

BIOPSIES

2009-06-23T14:03:00.003-04:00

Well yesterday I had 12 biopsies on my prostate, 6 from each side. The doctor said that the left side was dark, he said that it might mean something and it might not. But we should know something by Wednesday or Thursday. Everything went well, not fun nor pleasant, but could have been worse. So we are praying for good results and waiting on a phone call. Keep us in your prayers.

JUNE??

2009-06-09T12:26:00.003-04:00

Well we had thought that maybe June would not be such a busy month, we had Jody and Mia's birthday's, Relay for Life, Father's Day, but other than that a kind of quite month. Or so we thought, we are taking a couple of our inflatables (Buncha-Jumps) up to Amarillo for Mia's birthday party on Saturday,(Today is actually her birthday - Happy Birthday Mia, big 4 years old, Pa Paw loves you). And then Zoe (almost 9 months old) is having some surgery on the 17th, she has 3 ureters and has to have one removed, the doctor says that it is a simple operation. And then I go in on the 22nd to have 12 biopsies on my prostate. My psa keeps going higher, my free psa is 7% - it should be over 10%,and my left prostate is sort of hard.
Becky has a UV panel at home so that she can take her treatments at home now, and as soon as she gets the code she can use it, that saves us 500 miles a week.
But one thing I do know...God is still in control and it will be better when it's all over.

AMERICAN MARXISM??

2009-06-04T13:35:00.004-04:00

This was sent to me from Don Wildmon, American Family Association (afa.net). It should make us all stand up and take notice!!

This article is for your information. Please read.
Note from Don Wildmon: For years I have refused to use words such as Marxism, socialism or similar words when describing our current situation. However, it is time to call a spade a spade, regardless of how those who oppose us label us. Rome is burning.
The article below was written by Stanislav Mishin, a blogger and columnist for the Russian newspaper Pravda.

American capitalism gone with a whimper . . . . .
It must be said, that like the breaking of a great dam, the American decent into Marxism is happening with breath taking speed, against the back drop of a passive, hapless sheeple, excuse me dear reader, I meant people.

True, the situation has been well prepared on and off for the past century, especially the past twenty years. The initial testing grounds was conducted upon our Holy Russia and a bloody test it was. But we Russians would not just roll over and give up our freedoms and our souls, no matter how much money Wall Street poured into the fists of the Marxists.

Those lessons were taken and used to properly prepare the American populace for the surrender of their freedoms and souls, to the whims of their elites and betters.

First, the population was dumbed down through a politicized and substandard education system based on pop culture, rather than the classics. Americans know more about their favorite TV dramas than the drama in DC that directly affects their lives. They care more for their "right" to choke down a McDonalds burger or a BurgerKing burger than for their constitutional rights. Then they turn around and lecture us (Russia) about our rights and about our "democracy". Pride blinds the foolish.

Then their faith in God was destroyed, until their churches, all tens of thousands of different "branches and denominations" were for the most part little more then Sunday circuses and their televangelists and top protestant mega preachers were more then happy to sell out their souls and flocks to be on the "winning" side of one pseudo Marxist politician or another. Their flocks may complain, but when explained that they would be on the "winning" side, their flocks were ever so quick to reject Christ in hopes for earthly power. Even our Holy Orthodox (Russian Orthodox) churches are scandalously liberalized in America.

The final collapse has come with the election of Barack Obama. His speed in the past three months has been truly impressive. His spending and money printing has been a record setting, not just in America's short history but in the world. If this keeps up for more than another year, and there is no sign that it will not, America at best will resemble the Wiemar Republic and at worst Zimbabwe.

These past two weeks have been the most breath taking of all. First came the announcement of a planned redesign of the American Byzantine tax system, by the very thieves who used it to bankroll their thefts, loses and swindles of hundreds of billions of dollars. These make our Russian oligarchs look little more than ordinary street thugs, in comparison. Yes, the Americans have beat our own thieves in the shear volumes. Should we congratulate them?
These men, of course, are not an elected panel but made up of appointees picked from the very financial oligarchs and their henchmen who are now gorging themselves on trillions of American dollars, in one bailout after another. They are also usurping the rights, duties and powers of the American congress (parliament). Again, congress has put up little more then a whimper to their masters.

Then came Barack Obama's command that GM's (General Motor) president step down from leadership of his company. That is correct, dear reader, in the land of "pure" free markets, the American president now has the power, the self given power, to fire CEOs and we can assume other employees of private companies, at will. Come hither, go dither, the centurion commands his minions.

So it should be no surprise that the American president has followed this up with a "bold" move of declaring that he and another group of unelected, chosen stooges will now redesign the entire automotive industry and will even be the guarantee of automobile policies. I am sure that if given the chance, they would happily try and redesign it for the whole of the world, too. Prime Minister Putin, less then two months ago, warned Obama and UK's Blair, not to follow the path to Marxism, it only leads to disaster. Apparently, even though we suffered 70 years of this Western sponsored horror show, we know nothing, as foolish, drunken Russians, so let our "wise"

Anglo-Saxon fools find out the folly of their own pride.

Again, the American public has taken this with barely a whimper...but a "freeman" whimper.
So, should it be any surprise to discover that the Democratically controlled Congress of America is working on passing a new regulation that would give the American Treasury department the power to set "fair" maximum salaries, evaluate performance and control how private companies give out pay raises and bonuses? Senator Barney Franks, a social pervert basking in his homosexuality (of course, amongst the modern, enlightened American societal norm, as well as that of the general West, homosexuality is not only not a looked down upon life choice, but is often praised as a virtue) and his Marxist enlightenment, has led this effort. He stresses that this only affects companies that receive government monies, but it is retroactive and taken to a logical extreme, this would include any company or industry that has ever received a tax break or incentive.

The Russian owners of American companies and industries should look thoughtfully at this and the option of closing their facilities down and fleeing the land of the Red as fast as possible. In other words, divest while there is still value left.

The proud American will go down into his slavery with out a fight, beating his chest and proclaiming to the world, how free he really is. The world will only snicker.

Stanislav Mishin

REMISSION!!

2009-04-23T22:57:00.002-04:00

Well, since we last talked, Becky and I went to Denver to see her Dr. and get a 6 month check-up on her cancer. We flew to Denver on Friday in the middle of a blizzard, long rough flight, but in Greeley it was only rain. By Sunday it was clear and warm. We saw the Dr. on Tuesday and she said that Becky was in remission but she would have to continue treatment twice a week. Remission, what a good word, remission with maintenance treatment, that's OK. The Dr. also wrote a letter for the insurance company to see if we could get a treatment box in our house, that would save us 500 miles a week. But whatever, I do know this, I thank God and REMISSION is a great word!!!!!!

THREE GRANDGIRLS

2009-03-23T23:59:00.003-04:00

Well here are three pics of the girls,
these were taken the day that Jody and Sarah arrived home from Israel.
The first one is of Eisley and Zoe looking at each other.
This one is of Mia, looks like you could just swim in her eyes.

Hi Eisley, Mia and Eisley were ready to see their parents,
everyone was ready for them to be home.

Not much to say, but pretty girls to look at.

MARCH UPDATE

2009-03-04T11:29:00.005-05:00

Wow, it's been a while since I have blogged, for those of you who actually read this, I'm sorry. Well let me catch you up, it snowed here, not much as you see, but that has been about the extent of our moisture so far this year, sad but true.

Becky is in the hospital again, feeling some better this morning, but it will be a few more days until she is out. It seems like with this cancer that she gets sick real easy, real fast and real often. But she makes up for it by not getting over it very fast, it seems like the only way that she cane really get over it is in the hospital. After a week on antibiotics and three trips to the doctor, she was put in the hospital by Dr. Green. He keeps a close eye on her, but last week she didn't get to see him, this week she did.

She is still going for her treatments in Amarillo, but it has been cut down to once a week instead of twice, and she will go back to the Dr. in Denver in April. I think this is all a part of her cancer, so keep praying for her.

Our grandgirls are getting more beautiful every day, little Zoe is learning how to sit up, and getting good at it. Eisley is walking more all of the time and Mia is just getting smarter all of the time. She went with Jody to the post office to get the ministry mail out of the box, looked at the box's six digit number and remembered it days later.

Jody and Sarah are in Israel for 12 days, flew in this morning, what a great trip that would be.

Amy and Zach are in the process of buying a house, fixing it up and moving into it.

Amy and I and some others from our church are planning to go to Namibia Africa on a mission trip in October.

Anyway, this is a quick update, let me hear from you.

CHRISTMAS & FAMILY 08

2009-01-05T11:02:00.005-05:00

Christmas was awesome around our house this year, it was filled with wonder...

and excitment. We even had a princess present.

Everyone got just what they wanted....

Papa got the grandgirls

Mama Bee got a present too....
and then...and then..."Who is that masked man?"
It drove us all a bit crazy!!

But we knew, it was Mia's daddy. Hope you all had a great Christmas.

and have a wonderful 2009

QUESTION

2008-12-29T12:33:00.001-05:00

What does Family mean to you??

Let me see your answers. Thanks.

FAMILY REUNION

2008-12-28T08:55:00.004-05:00

We had a Wilson Family Reunion yesterday, and I wanted to be the first to update my blog. OK, I know that it's been a while since I did that, but I have as many excuses as anyone else. But, the truth is that I kind of felt like no one read it, I would post and nobody would comment. But I found out at our reunion that people do read it, so I wanted to be first to update. We had a great time, although some of the families could not make it. Maxine's, Troy's and Wayne's families could not make it, but we had a great turn out for the rest. Todd cooked all of the meat and others brought food and we all had a great time. And our next one is set for the summer of 2010, seems like way too long to wait. Anyway here are some pics, enjoy.

Leon Wilson family

3 Generations of Joe Wilson, Danny Joe, Joe Jr. & Jody (Joe)

The 3 Siblings present, Melba, Joe Jr., and Evelyn

The Melba Helm Family

The Cousins

The Joe Jr. Family

My twin, ok, it's really my cousin Freddy, people say that we look alike, that's because we are both so good looking, no really, that's true, we are both really good looking.

Uncle Joe

EISLEY'S 1st BIRTHDAY

2008-11-05T00:38:00.004-05:00

Eisley had her first birthday, everyone had a great time. Eisley had her very own cake, she wasn't too sure about getting her hands in it, what she liked best was the wrapping paper on the gifts. Anyway here are a few pictures for you to enjoy. When Jody and Sarah get their computer up and going again I'm sure she will have more. Enjoy!

Maybe this why they call me Papa-razzi.

TAGGED???

2008-10-31T10:19:00.012-04:00

Well, I guess I've been tagged, by Carla.
So here are a few of my wife's, Becky's favorite things, well me of course, what more does she really need???? That was a joke, just in case you didn't know.

Becky's Favorite things........in no certain order

She loves her grandkids, Mia, Eisley & Zoe.
There are a few things in life that help to lower her blood pressure, her grandkids, fishing and reading cookbooks (maybe her cat).

Family

Colorado

Her Kids

I tried to find a funny looking one of Sarah but could'nt, sorry Sarah.

My Goatee...believe it or don't

Her Cat

Turning 50!!!!......I think

I tag Jody, because he never updates his blog.

M. F. Clinic

2008-10-16T13:22:00.003-04:00

Well, we are off to Colorado, a few days earlier than we had planned to go. Our original plans were to fly up on Monday, go to the Mycosis Fungoides Clinic on Tuesday and then fly home on Wednesday. But we received word that Becky's step-mom passed away and her funeral is on Saturday. So Amy and Zach want to go (this is the only grandmother Jody and Amy have ever known on Becky's side), so we are going to ride up with them on Friday, they will drive home on Sunday, we will ride with John and Ellen back to Greeley, go see the doctor on Tuesday and fly home Wednesday. That almost confuses me and I just wrote it!
Anyway, we will see this doctor who is one of the best and see what she thinks. Becky's insurance wanted her to go see a guy who is treating one patient instead of a clinic that treats only this, and of course it will not pay for her to go to the MF Clinic. It doesn't make any sense to me, but then again what do I know? I seem to approach things with common sense.
So be praying for us as we embark on this journey. Talk to ya later.

PREACHING TO MY PEERS

2008-10-06T10:36:00.003-04:00

So this past weekend was a very busy one. We were having an On Mission Celebration at church and in the Red Fork Association. What that means is that every church who was willing would have a missionary in their church on Sunday morning and then we would all meet in Vernon on Sunday evening. This would also coincide with our Red Fork Annual Meeting, we always have a 4pm session that is more of a business type meeting and then a 6pm session that is more of a worship service. Well we always bring a speaker in for the 6pm session, but for the 4pm session we have one of the pastors in the Red Fork speak. And this year it fell to me to preach in the 4pm session, now I was asked a year ago, so I had a full year to get ready. Now this sets the stage for our weekend, by the way, the missionary coming to our church stayed with us, which was great, but that meant getting everything ready, for me that meant the yard, but for my wife that meant the house.
Friday plans: Get a new edger blade and edge the yard, I had not edged it all year, I had just used the weed-eater, which looks good - but not as good as an edger makes it look. Weed-eat around everything else to dress it up and make it look good, and then crank up the riding mower and mow and catch the grass. And have a great looking yard in about 4 or 5 hours. Right? And then work on the house some for my wife, you know, be a good husband. Best laid plans of mice and men....
Friday morning: Get up, strip sheets off bed and wash. Amy needs to get her hair cut, could I possibly watch Zoe for an hour or so, how could I say no? After all I can still be done with the yard by mid-afternoon. So I get to hold Zoe for an hour, best part of my day!!! After Amy and Zoe leave I go get an new edger blade, get it on, edger starts on the first pull, first time it has been started all year. I start edging, about half way done it dies just like it was out of gas or something, it wasn't but I fill it anyway, no good. So the mechanic in me kicks in and I begin to check everything, nothing, still will not start. So fine, I'll just finish with my Weed-eater. I weed-eat about 20 min. and it starts running bad and dies, so once again mechanic me goes to work, no good, starts and dies. I go to Wal-mart for a new spark plug, try it in the edger, nope, in the weed-eater, nope. OK, I'll just mow, riding mower won't start. By now it's getting dark, all day, no yard work. Put everything up and sleep on it.
Saturday morning: During the night I thought about what was wrong with the edger, the carb sits right on top of the gas tank, it must be a plugged screen, therefore no gas. And the weed-eater, must be bad gas, hence start and die. So I drop the gas tank off of the edger, blow our the screen, re-install gas tank, edger starts and runs good, finish edging, day going good. Dump bad gas out of weed-eater only to discover that the plastic tube with the gas filter on it is no longer connected, no gas. take tube out and go buy new tube, install, man I'm good, two for two. Pat myself on the back way too soon, still start and die. Give up and put charger on riding mower, charge and get yard mowed, blow off walks, put cars back where they belong and as I'm walking my very dirty self back into the still not finished, but close, house, although Becky and Amy have been cleaning, I see the missionary drive up, 2 hours early. Can you guess who was in trouble? The yard could have waited, and I really should have been helping inside. But what can I say, it only took me 2 days on a 4 hour job. But it worked out, while Becky and Susan (our missionary) went to the store I mopped the floors and took a shower. That evening we went out to dinner with the missionary and the deacons and wives and Amy and Zach.
Sunday: Had a great service, Susan spoke, gained two new members, and will baptize 3 next week.
Now on to Sunday evening, 4pm session; by the time I got up to preach I didn't have much time left, but it was good. God had given me my scripture text last year at this time.
And the Reubenites and the Gadites gave the altar this name: A Witness Between Us that the LORD is God. Joshua 22:34 (NIV)
God gave me a message that was right on key for this year and for the early session and everything that followed, that's the way God works if we will let Him.
Now was I nervous about preaching to my peers, some, but I was more excited to bring what God had given me to bring.
Just another week-end in the Wilson household? I hope not.

CRUISIN'

2008-09-22T18:40:00.002-04:00

We had the honor of keeping Mia and Eisley while Sarah went to her great-grandmothers funeral. Mia and I went cruisin', around and around the yard. She wanted to help Papa mow the yard, so she rode the riding mower. She helped me mow all of the back yard, & the side yard, but when we got to the front yard she was ready to go in the house with Mamaw. It kind of made me miss the farm, she would have had fun riding the tractor. I grew up riding the tractor, the horses and even a calf if Papa wasn't looking. There is nothing quite like the farm, but the riding mower is as close as I have these days. Thanks for riding with me Mia.

Mamaw holding Zoe, Zoe crying

Mia and Eisley having fun

Mama Bea, Mia & Zoe

Matt & Miranda stopped by the house on Sunday afternoon, got a picture of Matt holding Zoe

THE WEEKEND

2008-09-16T17:09:00.001-04:00

This past weekend was tough, but it was also good. I received word on Friday morning that my Uncle Wayne had passed away, he was my dad's older brother. He passed away 11 months after my dad, Wayne was the one that made everyone laugh, you never knew what he was going to say, kind of like most Wilson's, with Wayne you never knew if what he was going to say was clean or not, but you knew it was going to be funny. When I was in high school we lived in Center Colorado as did Bettye and Wayne so I got to spend a lot of time with them. And now I have had the honor to preach both of their funerals. It was a tough thing to do and I was emotionally spent Saturday night after it was all over with.
But the good part of it is that I got to see a lot of the family, that is always good.
On Sunday we had Desert Reign here for Sunday morning worship and we had a free concert and free food and had over 150 people there. It was a good outreach and we are going to make it an annual event.
So by Sunday night I was also physically spent, and here we go with another week. Each week has it's own challenges and with God's help (and I must have His help) I will face it.

STILL WAITING

2008-09-09T16:13:00.001-04:00

Well we are still waiting on the word about the Mycosis Fungoides Clinic in Denver. What we are actually waiting on right now is insurance. Waiting to see if we will be allowed to go out of network.
Don't you just love the way it works, you can't just go and see who you need to go and see, you must first be referred by another doctor and then approved and then given permission by your insurance. We had three referrals but the insurance wanted more. At least we have good insurance, I thank God for that.
So we are still waiting, when we hear something I will blog you. Until then, keep the blog bloggin.

THE MOST BEAUTIFUL GRANDGIRLS IN THE WORLD

2008-09-01T10:54:00.002-04:00

Now you may not agree with me, but I am pretty sure that I have the most Beautiful granddaughters in the world.
What, you need proof? OK!

Mia is the oldest, this her and Jack

This Eisley, second to the oldest

This is Zoe, our newest.

And if you need further proof, here are some more pics.

MYCOSIS FUNGOIDES

2008-09-01T10:34:00.001-04:00

An update on my wife, as I have said before she has cutaneous T-cell lymphoma, also known as mycosis fungoides. We have had conflicting opinions from different doctors. Her dermatologist sent her to the oncologist who did the pet scan and blood work, both of which came back negative. Which means that the cancer has not gone into her body but has stayed on her skin, good news. He sent her back to the dermatologist to be treated, the dermatologist didn't know why she was being sent back to him when the oncologist should treat this.
In the meantime, my wife went to Colorado to help her sisters clean out their dads house who passed away 3 years ago. While visiting their dads cousin they got to meet his daughter who just happens to be a doctor, a dermatologist and president of the National Dermatologist Association. Her cousin, Dr. Lynn Drake, told her what she had and what to do and where to go for the best treatment, Denver. They have a Mycosis Fungoides clinic there, the best.
Becky's oncologist acted like this was no big deal and said he would most likely never see her again, her dermatologist took it mush more serious and her cousin said get it treated now. I think we will listen to her cousin.
So now we are trying to get her into this MF clinic and trying to get her insurance to allow her to go out of network for treatment.
So keep praying for us, God answers prayers, He already has. Just think, Becky goes to clean her dad's house out and ends up talking to her cousin, who doesn't live there, who just happened to be visiting her dad on the same days Becky was there. Only God can do that!

ZOE IS HERE!!

2008-08-27T07:44:00.001-04:00

Our baby has a baby, Amy & Zach have their first, a beautiful baby girl named Zoe Terah.
Mom and baby are doing fine, Amy had a c-section so she will be sore for a while.
Zoe weighed in at 6lb 6oz, 19 in long, she was born at 2:00 pm, August 26.
August 26 was Becky's dad's birthday, it is also Becky's sister's (Verna) birthday. Kinda cool.
So I know that you don't want to read what I write, you just want to see pictures,
so check these out!!

Zoe meets mom.

Proud new daddy shows her off for the first time Mamaw(who got to hold her before Papa) with Zoe and Mia
A few more pics of Zoe
Uncle Jody, Eisley, Papa & Mia
Aunt Sarah & Zoe

Before the birth, mom and dad waitingThe grandmothers, my mom Winna, Becky(Mamaw), and Zach's mom, Selina

Zach's dad, Randy and his twin sister, Tanah.So here are some pictures of Zoe and family, I am sure there will be more later.

A BIG DAY

2008-08-26T11:12:00.001-04:00

Well, today is a big day, in just a few short hours I will meet for the very first time my third granddaughter. Zoe Terah is being born today. This is her BIRTH-DAY. Finally after all of these months we will get to see what she looks like, I know that she will be beautiful just like her mother. So this is an exciting day, I will post some pics of her later.
Now I wonder who will get to hold her first, Mamaw or me?

TURNING 49!!

2008-08-14T13:14:00.001-04:00

So this past Monday, I turned 49, it's hard to believe they have let me live this long! One more and I will be a half a century, it's hard to believe that I am actually 49 years old. You know that you are getting older when the age of people that you used to identify with are all kids, and the people that you can relate to the most are the ones you once thought of as old. My brother in law had an uncle named Adam who used to say, "The old man I used to talk about, is me!" Sometimes that's the way I feel.
But, when I take a look at my life, I realize that I haven't lived very long at all. 49 isn't old, it's young and I have a lot more livin' to do.
When was the last time you took stock in your life? I have a wonderful wife, great kids (all 4 of them), 2 awesome grandkids and 1 almost here. I love what I do, I have a great church ... life is good. I am a Thankful Man.
What about you? When was the last time you took stock in your life? Do you look at the good in your life or just the bad? Do you look at what you have or just what you want? We need to learn to be more thankful in our lives.
Take time to tell God Thank You today, tomorrow and every day.
Then maybe they will let you be as old or young as I am. Just remember 49 isn't old ... if you are a tree.
"Finally, brothers, whatever is true, whatever is noble, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is admirable--if anything is excellent or praiseworthy--think about such things."
Phil 4:8 (NIV)

PUPPIES ANYONE??

2008-07-29T13:22:00.000-04:00

LOOKING FOR A GOOD PUPPY?

LOOKING FOR A GREAT PET FOR YOUR KIDS?
WE HAVE JUST WHAT YOU NEED.

Did you know that we are about 2 weeks away from having a great puppy just for you? We have a great puppy who wants to come live with you, no really!

These pups are half Black Lab and half fence jumper, they love water, will make a great pet, bird dog, footstool or whatever.

Let us know how many you want.

CANCER!

2008-07-28T18:03:00.001-04:00

Well, it's been a few days since I have blogged, and you may know why, but just in case you don't let me try and fill in some of the details.
Before we went on our trip to Colorado, Becky had a biopsy done on her foot and thigh for this skin thing she has going on. the place on her foot had been there for years, has been seen by many doctors over the years and dismissed as this or that and none of them gave it much thought. The place on her foot looked like it was trying to get infected so she went to see our doctor before we left and he did a culture on it. while we were in Greeley it began hurting her more and more, and looking worse and worse so she called our doctor and he put her on some antibiotics, which helped.
On Wednesday after we got back from our trip, Becky went into our family doctor to get another round of antibiotics. He asked if she had heard from the doctor who did the biopsy, she said no and so he called.
Well the word came back as malignant Cutaneous T-cell Lymphoma. This came as quite a shock to both of us (and many others). So on the following Tuesday we went to see the Dr. at Texas Oncology, basically he said that this is mainly a skin type cancer and most of the time did not go inside of the body, 2 days later Becky had a pet scan done. We are still waiting on those results.
So if you are wondering why no blog, wonder no longer.

We just ask that you keep Becky in your prayers, cancer is a word that can bring fear with it, we have been calm and at peace. I think our son Jody said it best, he said that cancer is just a name that has been put on this and that Jesus is the name above all names.
Amen Jody.

A FEW DAYS AWAY

2008-07-16T11:36:00.000-04:00

We took a few days off and flew into Denver, Becky's sister(Ellen), brother-in-law(John) and two nieces(Beth & Lauren) picked us up at the airport. If you have never flown into Denver International Airport (DIA) it is quite the place. In order to get from one concourse to the other you walk downstairs and board this type of subway that runs about 70 miles per hour, stops quick and starts quick, and you just stand up and hang on, kind of fun.
We did the family thing, Becky's sister(Verna) and husband(Kenny) came up from Alamosa, her brother (Rick) and his wife(Sheri) and their two little girls(Kati and Kenna) came down from Casper WY. We had a great time getting to see everyone and visit, here are a few pics.

The 4 siblings (l-r) Verna, Becky(in back), Ellen & Rick

Ellen's 4 girls(l-r), front- Ivy & Jenna, back-Beth & Lauren
And the family pic

Rick & Sheri

Kenny & Verna
We had a great time and on Monday before we flew out we took a trip up to Estes Park, so of course here are a few mountain pics.

Mountain church anyone?

Hope that you are having a great summer. God Bless

SORE THROAT

2008-07-08T16:43:00.001-04:00

We had a really great week-end, Jody, Sarah, Mia and Eisley came down from Amarillo for the 4th week-end. Amy and Zach came over and we all had a wonderful time with each other. It's good to see how well everyone gets along, I wish I could show you some pictures but my camera broke, (I wish I could remember who it was that warned me not to take their picture, they said "Your are going to break your camera"). Any way, we have no pictures of Eisley's first 4th of July, bummer.
On Sunday we all got up and went to church, Zach and I come out early and on the way it felt like needles in my throat. We had church, I sang and then preached and my throat felt kind of raw but it feels that way a lot of Sundays. By Sunday night it was real raw and raspy. Monday morning rolls around and I have a full fledged sore throat. I go to the doctor and she asks me if I have any sinus drainage. I say no and then realize that I am swallowing some, I then say yes. Now I am taking anti-biotic, antihistamine and cough syrup, trying to get better as soon as possible.
Anyway I feel like sleeping but I must work, and blog.
I hope that you had as great of a week-end as we did.
I love having my family home and all together, Thank You Lord!

NEW PUPPIES

2008-07-02T17:28:00.000-04:00

Well, it has been a while since my last blog, many things have happened around here. Number one we had a bad storm, tornado, high wind, a foot of hail and rain, or so it seemed. At noon the next day we still had some hail in areas. We has less damage than most, we lost a window and a large tree.

This is looking out of the broken window,

and the tree that we lost.

It may not look that bad, but when we finished taking out all of the broken limbs there wasn't enough tree left to keep, and it was dying. My Papa planted this sweetgum tree in 1970, sure hated to lose it.

We also celebrated some birthdays, Jody and Mia both had birthdays.

Jody opening up a gift, and Mia at her party.

And let's not leave Eisley out.

And now we have puppies, 7 of them. Our Black Lab had 7 pups, this would not be so bad if we could sell them, but these are half lab and half fence jumper. Anyone want a cute, lovable puppy?????????

Pictures to come later.

Mia's Big Day

2008-06-10T15:08:00.001-04:00

So our oldest Grandgirl turned three yesterday, I didn't get to talk to her but this weekend we will get to celebrate with a party. Jody also had a birthday on the 6th, he turned 27, man is he ever getting old. It's hard to believe that my firstborn has a firstborn 3 years old. anyway it will be great to see them this weekend. here are some pics of Jody and Mia.

Jody & Mia, christmas 06

Jody, need I say more?

"Get your guns up"

Jody leading music for our revival, 11-9-05

Jody & Mia on her 2nd birthday

Eisley's First Haircut

2008-06-08T16:02:00.001-04:00

So we had the girls at our house last weekend and Jody and Sarah drove in from Austin and joined them. We had a great time and they enjoyed VBS with us, at least Mia did. After Jody and Sarah came in on Saturday night we cooked out and had a great time. But then Jody wanted to give Eisley a haircut, I was opposed to this for the main reason that I was afraid he would do to her what he did to Mia at that age, shave her head. Zach was also an accomplice, and they tried to get me to bless it, nice try guys. I refused to be a part of it, Sarah as always trusted Jody, and I must say that it is a good haircut, a bit too short for a girl, but as least it wasn't shaved. Anyway here are some photos, the first one is of Mia, she takes pictures so well.

This is Eisley before her haircut, just look at those eyes!!

This is a picture of my oldest and youngest granddaughter, Mia is of course my oldest, and Amy is pregnant with my youngest, Zoe.

This is Eisley after her haircut, she liked the baby in the mirror.

Sarah and Eisley, you can see where she gets her looks from, and you thought it was from me.

Anyway, she does have those Wilson blue eyes, I have the prettiest girls in the world, all of them.
Until next time, see ya.

New Pics

2008-05-30T20:57:00.001-04:00

I thought that I would share some new pictures with you.

Mia & Eisely

Amy & Mia

Eisely

Matthew McCurley & Mia

Becky and Amy went to Colorado to see her family, they took some good photo's.

The girls

Kenny & Verna

The Three Sisters

Colorful Colorado

NOT SO DANDELION!

2008-05-20T13:36:00.001-04:00

I mowed my yard yesterday morning, three hours of hard work, looked back at my handiwork and was well pleased with the results. Took a shower, was leaving for some home visits and looked and saw a dandelion waving his long arm at me. It was as if it was saying "mow me if you want to but I grow back real fast." I left it because without the right spray it is pointless to go and break it off again, now if I was to dig it up.......
All too often our lives are like a yard, it can be really beautiful to look at, maybe even win the yard of the week award, but a fresh cut yard can hide a lot of weeds. Like my dandelion, it was there before I mowed, it was there after I mowed, it couldn't be seen at least not until it started waving hello.
In our own lives we try to hide our sin, but unless we let Jesus remove it it will resurface and mess everything up. Numbers 32:23 says, "be sure your sin will catch up with you." (HCSB) What think we have hidden, all too often others see all too well. Don't carry unconfessed sin in your life, it will pull you down, it will destroy you, and it's never as hidden as you think. God always knows!

GRADUATION DAY

2008-05-12T19:05:00.000-04:00

We drove to Stephenville this past Friday to watch my nephew Levi graduate from Tarleton State University on Saturday. Amy and Zach rode with Becky and I, we had a great time and got to watch Levi graduate. Way to go, Levi!!!!

Levi and Braci, soon to be Mr. & Mrs.

Levi, Amy and Shawn, three close cousins forever

Mia & Eisley

2008-05-09T00:08:00.002-04:00

So we got to keep Mia and Eisley this past weekend, we drove to Amarillo and picked them up so Jody and Sarah could have a weekend on a marriage retreat. We have keep Mia many times, but this was the first time that we have ever kept little Eisley. It was a blast. We put both girls in the same bedroom to sleep and it was fun standing by the door listening to them. They both go to bed so well, no fussing, no fighting, just "it bedtime" and they lay right down. Sometimes we could hear Mia talking to Eisley, reassuring her, and one time I caught her singing to Eisley. Both girls had fun at Mamaw and Papa's house, but they sure were excited to see mom and dad.
Thanks Jody and Sarah for trusting us with them. And thank you Lord for spouses that you gave to our kids, we now have 4 kids (no in-laws here), and thank you Lord for grandkids.

Mia (wearing her eye tech) and Jack

Eisley

Eisley and Mia playing

Uncle's

2008-05-07T17:15:00.001-04:00

I got to visit with my two uncles who are still alive on my dad's side today, Joe and Wayne. Both of these men are older than my dad, both are alive and my dad isn't. Seeing them and talking to them reminded me of how much I miss my dad, my dad passed away in October of 07. He began smoking when he was 16, my uncle's never did, they are getting up there in years and showing it, but they are alive. Daddy was only 76 when he passed away after being on hospice for 3 years. We watched him die a slow death, watched him go from being a hardworking man who could do anything, a man who was one of the best cowboys I have ever known or seen, a man who could fix anything, a man who could drive trucks, tractors, heavy equipment, a man who loved to spend time with his kids and grandkids and great-grandkids, to a man who spent his last months in a hospital bed at the nursing home.

I sound like I'm rambling on and on. But seeing my uncle's today just brought out a longing for my dad. I miss you daddy.

Leon & Winna Wilson

(my parents)

My brother's, sister's and parents.

from l to r

Jan, Van, me, Dan & Ann, and my parents.

Family is a good thing, I thank God that I am one of 5 kids, and I thank Him for the family my wife and I have.

Let me know about your family.

Grandkids

2008-04-29T17:36:00.001-04:00

I am looking forward to this weekend, we get to keep our grandkids. Jody and Sarah are going on a marriage retreat with their church and we get to spoil, I mean keep our grandgirls. I heard on the news that the mother can help choose the sex of the baby. If the prospective mom eats breakfast every morning before she gets prego, and if she eats food like oatmeal for breakfast, she is more likely to have a boy. But, we have grandgirls, and grand they are, and we are about to add another grandgirl to the mix with Zoe. So until and after we get some grandboys, I will continue to love and be loved on by my girls. After all, is it not every mans dream to have a house full of beautiful girls? Here are some recent pics of my girls and family.

Smile Jody smile, hey, is the sun bright?? Everybody open your eyes!

Theory of Knowledge, part 2

2008-04-28T13:41:00.001-04:00

Well, I had absolutely no comments on the Theory of Knowledge post. So that can only mean the either no one reads this or everyone is waiting with baited breath to see what answers I wrote, so here they are....

Theory of Knowledge

1. When should we trust our senses to give us truth?

The only truth our senses can give us is the truth of sight, sound, taste and feel, and then what they sense isn’t always correct. Sometimes what we think we see, hear, feel or taste isn’t right, therefore it isn’t truth. There is absolute truth and everything else measures against it. That absolute truth is God and His Son Jesus. Jesus said in John 14:6 "I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me.” (NIV). Doing something just because it feels right will get us into trouble, we must know truth and trust Him. We can do this by knowing His Word. Senses will mislead us, as in the case of two eyewitness of the same accident trusting their senses of sight and sound and yet having two different stories. Yet if a video replay were shown both would have some element of truth to their story, but both would have some elements of falsehood. Trusting our senses for truth will let us down and disappoint us.

2. “Seek simplicity and distrust it” (Alfred North Whitehead). Is this always good advice for a knower?

If you are going to distrust it, why seek it? Just because something is simple does not make it wrong, and just because it is complicated does not make it right. Jesus said in Matthew 11:29 “Take my yoke upon you and learn from me,” (NIV). This is a statement that would be made by a rabbi to a prospective student. And it was an invitation for that student to come and learn. When an ox was in the yoke it did not have to worry about where it was going, all it had to do was walk where it was lead. When a student was taught by a rabbi he did not have to worry, just learn, this was simple.

When we are a knower, it should make some things in life simpler. If our knowledge makes something in life simpler, should we distrust what we know? We should always be learner, but that doesn’t make what we know wrong!

3. “There can be no knowledge without emotion…until we have felt the force of the knowledge, it is not ours” (adapted from Arnold Bennett). Discuss this vision of the relationship between knowledge and emotion.

Being a minister I am passionate about what I know. If we know something and have no emotion about it, it is simply head knowledge, just facts that we can quote; like the answers on a test that we have memorized and as soon as the test is over we forget it all. But when we know something and emotion is attached to it, we know that it is in the core of our being. Like a salesman that is really sold on the product he is selling, he is excited about that product; but one that isn’t will have a hard time selling anyone on his product.

Find a person's passion and you will find their knowledge and emotion entwined in such a manner that you could never unravel nor untangle them.

Now that you have read my answers, let me hear some of yours.
until next time.....

Looking for Help

2008-04-16T18:22:00.000-04:00

So last night, my wife and I are sitting at the table by the sliding doors, the ones leading into the backyard and we heard our black lab, Maxi, hit the doors twice. We didn't know if she was trying to catch something or what, so we opened the door to see. Maxi came in muddy and dripping with water, she had been in her pool, but I could tell that something wasn't right by the way she was acting. She will not usually come right into the house, she will put her head in and look around for the cats, they are also black and this seems to amaze her. But this time she came right in, dripping water and leaving muddy footprints. My wife yelled to get her out, but we both soon realized that something was wrong. When I looked at her mouth it was wet and bloody. My wife held her and I opened her mouth, she had a bone stuck crosswise in her top teeth. I tried several times to pull it out but it was wedged in tight, of course when you have a large, strong dog that wants help but doesn't want to stand still for it, that doesn't help the cause. Finally I got her mouth open enough to get a good look at the bone to see which end was in the least and pulled on that end and released the bone. She was one grateful dog, and still is today.
You know this is the way we are with our Heavenly Father all too often, we go to Him for help but we don't want to stand still for it. We know that we need help, we don't know for sure what needs to be done, but we know how God should do it. Maxi came to the door looking for help, she knew where to find it, and was grateful when it was over. She was afraid, this bone that was going to taste so good turned into pain and fright. But she came to her master (Becky) for the help she had to have. This dog who will not normally allow anyone to love on her, allowed Becky to love on her and she enjoyed it.
Is there a lesson to be learned here? I think so, who knows maybe I will use this in a sermon.

Theory of Knowledge

2008-04-16T10:19:00.001-04:00

So my wife's niece sent me a request, she is in this philosophy class and needed a theologian to answer some questions, and she must not know any real ones, so she called on me. (Ha ha, I sure she knows many more qualified than myself)
Anyway here is the e-mail she sent me and the questions;

This is Lauren and I was wondering if I could use you as a human resource for my Theory of Knowledge class. It’s a philosophy class and I figured that a theologian like yourself could help me. If you could answer a few questions in the most professional and philosophical way, I would very much appreciate it.

1. When should we trust our senses to give us truth?
2. “Seek simplicity and distrust it” (Alfred North Whitehead). Is this always good advice for a knower?
3. “There can be no knowledge without emotion…until we have felt the force of the knowledge, it is not ours” (adapted from Arnold Bennett). Discuss this vision of the relationship between knowledge and emotion.

So how would you answer these???

I will give you the answers I sent her in a few days.

She also said in her e-mail;

p.s- Its sort of due…this Tuesday…haha
(This was Monday evening)

By the way, just so you know, I love Lauren and I would have stayed up all night to help her, as it turned out I didn't need to, and this was fun and it was an honor to be asked by her. Maybe seminary is paying off. Let me hear from you.

Springtime in the Yard

2008-04-15T15:17:00.000-04:00

Well, I have spent two days working in my yard, anyone who knows where my house is knows that I have a large yard. But I spent Friday and Monday working on my riding mower and filling in holes the dogs have dug, raking leaves, hauling firewood back to where I store it in the summer, cleaning and mowing really slow and low to help clean acorns, leaves, dogie piles and other junk out of the yard. Today I am a bit sore but the yard does look good. Does this mean that I am finished with my springtime yard cleaning? No, I still need to rake acorns out of the flower beds and get ready to plant flowers, and I also need to sow more shady grass seed. Is it worth it, I like to think so, and I do like to have a nice yard. My goal is to get the yard looking as nice as it did back when my grandfather lived in the house, he liked a nice yard also.
I would also like to get a patio with new steps out my back door poured this summer, but I must get a new roof first. Always something to be done, and it always seems to take money, money I don't have. Like the man said, "I should have been born rich instead of so good looking," OK, maybe I missed out on both.
But it is springtime in Texas, and it is grand; warmer weather, more wind, spring rains, tornado's, spiders and bugs, aah, springtime in Texas.
As the song says, "When it's roundup time in Texas, and the bloom is on the sage. Then I long to be in Texas, just a riding on the range."
Last time I rode the range......my wife turned the burner on. (Always leave em laughing.)

Oh my aching back

2008-04-08T16:14:00.000-04:00

Have you ever had a hurt back? I broke mine about 18 years ago, my back and my hip, and ever since then I can hurt my back for no apparent reason. Take last night for example, I turned over in bed and I felt my back pull wrong. And now today my back hurts, not enough to stop me, just enough to remind me that it hurts. Of course it doesn't help that I don't weigh what I should, I'm a few pounds over weight, OK, a lot of pounds over weight. Maybe I should start running with my son-in-law, no that wouldn't work, he would run off and leave me and I would be left throwing rocks at him, or worse, passed out in the street with some dog biting me. I guess I need to be more diligent about going to the gym.
I have heard that you can eat to lose weight, I eat to lose weight but it always seem to find me. I have also heard to stop drinking soft drinks and you will lose weight, I stopped drinking soft drinks, no weight loss. Maybe if I stop eating chips and bread and potatoes and meat and carrots and peas and beans and food???
Anyway, I used to be thin, at least thinner, a lot thinner than now, but that was before I broke my back and hip. Let's see, can you help me think up a few more excuses. I think that it is really up to me to lose the weight that I want to lose. You know, "If it's to be, it's up to me!"
Anyway, think thin, think thin, think thin....where's the ice cream?

Deadlines!

2008-04-07T21:49:00.000-04:00

Deadlines, we all have them, with our job, family or whatever, we all have them. As a pastor of a church I have deadlines every week, and the biggest one is Sunday morning sermons. Some people think that all a preacher has to do is get up in front and start talking and a sermon comes out. But did you know that on the average a 30 minute sermon takes 20 hours of prep? And did you realize that we must seek out the Lord's will about what to preach before all of that prep work can begin. Now I can only speak for myself but I want to make sure that everything I preach lines up with the Word of God, saying it just because it sounds good doesn't work. I had a man tell me that a preacher could preach on whatever he wanted to. I guess that some do, maybe they have an ax to grind and decide that it is OK to do it from the pulpit, But what we must always remember is that God will hold ministers, preacher, pastors accountable for what is preached from their pulpit. That is one reason why I am so picky about who stands behind the one that I am responsible for. I believe that God holds us to a higher standard because we are ministers of the Gospel. Proverbs 30:5-6 says, "Every word of God is pure; He is a shield to those who put their trust in Him. 6 Do not add to His words, Lest He rebuke you, and you be found a liar." (NKJV)
We must all be very careful of the words we speak, not just in front of the church, but in front of everyone, especially in front of those who don't know Jesus. We must keep control of our tongue. James 1:26 says, "If anyone considers himself religious and yet does not keep a tight rein on his tongue, he deceives himself and his religion is worthless." (NIV)
So remember, no matter how important the deadline, it isn't worth a tongue that doesn't represent God well. Let others see Jesus in you.
We all have deadlines, if we are a student, we have homework that is due or a test that is coming up. If we are parents we sometimes seem to have deadlines every day. In our job we have deadlines, some more important than others, but the fact is that we all have deadlines, it's not the deadlines that tell who we are, but it is how we handle those deadlines. After all what is a deadline? It is a line that is at the end of a given amount of time, it is when the clock stops, it is showtime. So remember when your next deadline comes up it is your time to shine. Shine Bright!

Mid-Week Prayer Meeting

2008-04-02T19:27:00.000-04:00

I'm sitting here waiting for everyone to show up for Wednesday prayer meeting and Bible study. This is always a great night, with our reFuge (youth) and Kidzone kids and Adults we usually have anywhere between 60 and 100. It's always a great night for a lot of reasons, there is always lots of energy with the kids, but the sound of kids is life for a church, todays kids is tomorrow's church and it is up to us to train them in the ways of the Lord. We always have at least 2 van loads and sometimes 3, of just kids. It is always a loud and exciting night that I look forward to every week. Well kids are showing up, better go!!

Grandkids and Life

2008-04-01T14:45:00.000-04:00

My daughter is 17 weeks along with her first, she sends out weekly updates on the development of her child. The updates let us know what is developing on her baby at this time, by the way it is about the weight of a turnip. I love being a dad, I loved raising our children, being involved in every area of their lives. Everything from baseball to raising pigs, from music to learning how to ride horses, from learning about God to a personal relationship with Jesus, from birth to death, I love being a dad. But, being a grandad is even better, things bother me less as a grandfather, or should I say Papaw. I think that I was more concerned with what other people thought when we were raising out kids, now I don't care. I am more concerned with just loving and enjoying them, spoiling them and sending them home, mom and dad get to worry about the rest. Being grandparents is a real blast, and I know that my wife and I, Mamaw and Papaw, have the best grandkids in the world. That's why they are called GRANDkids.

2008-03-19T16:35:00.000-04:00

I have finally started doing something that I have wanted to do for a while, blog. I am not sure if I will be any good at it or not, but I will try. The only thing that concerns me now is what to blog about. So as i kick this thing off, bear with me and maybe we will have some fun together.
Randy Wilson