Joyce and I enjoyed time with family in Texas over the past week or so. A special thanks to all who covered for me while gone, including Scott Mills, Phil Stapp, Charley Belch and others.

Speaking of the Sunday I was gone, I hope that you were here for the presentation from our shepherds. I’m looking forward to listening to it, and I hope that those of you who were unable to be here will do the same. Once it’s uploaded you can get to it by going to our web site posted elsewhere in the Family Page. You can also request a CD by calling or leaving a note here at the church office. There are some copies of George Bradshaw’s outline as well as copies of our 2011 budget in the foyer of the auditorium. Continue in prayer for our leaders and our church, and get involved!

This Sunday is our annual Children’s Ministry emphasis day. We will be once again reminded of the great responsibility we have to minister to our children in order to pass along faith in Christ to them, and encourage them as they build their own relationship with our Lord.

During my sermon time Sunday morning I will mention an article by Bobby Ross in the current issue of The Christian Chronicle. He shares some thoughts as he prepares for the high school graduation of his son, and offers some important comments on the significance of an encouraging church family as we seek to instill faith in our children.

It wasn’t exactly Planes, Trains, and Automobiles, but my trip to Charlotte, Houston, Beaumont, back to Houston, San Antonio, and finally home to North Carolina was a bit memorable, especially on the leg from Houston to San Antonio. I had chosen to save a hundred bucks and Go Greyhound instead of fly. After bus trouble that brought about several stops on the side of the road, a rest stop, a convenience store/gas station, and a McDonald’s, then finally another bus, turning a three-hour trip into a seven-hour trip, I was ready to get there. And of course it was during the week that Houston set a record for earliest 100-degree days. Once again, an opportunity to exercise patience and flexibility, traits on which I’m sure we all could use a little work. Wouldn’t it be great if we could find some other way to cultivate those characteristics? Oh well…