I'm Home

 Tragedy struck Spring Creek when a 28 year old father of two darling girls died in a car wreck. We held his memorial service last Saturday. We live streamed it and at last count over 3,000 people viewed that service. 

This is a poem written about Tyler. His mother told me she always wanted to know when he got home. He would slip into the bedroom and whisper in her ear, "I'm home." That story prompted this poem. 

When younger, you wanted to run and to roam, 

Momma wanted to know when. you go home, 

As a man, you branched out to follow your dreams, 

Just 28 years old - how the time flies it seems, 

A personality as large as Texas - much bigger than life, 

Your tragic premature death is cutting deep like a knife, 

Questions linger as everyone wants to know the why, 

You, so young and filled with hopes had to go and die, 

Your memory brings smiles followed by cascades of tears, 

Way to soon to lose a son and father at just twenty-eight years, 

O, if we could all see you now walking the streets of Glory, 

Telling everyone your amazing grace redemption story, 

In the presence of Jesus, who saved your eternal soul, 

And healed the broken places and made you all whole, 

By a faith you chose and embraced for your very own, 

Mom, Dad, Nanna, girls don't cry, I finally made it home. 

Blindsided By Blessings

 How many times have I sat down to write the latest testimony of something extraordinary God did in response to prayer. So many that I wonder if people ever think I am making all these things up. I assure you I have not. They are tangible answered prayers from God. Let me share with you two of the latest. 

I wrote to you before how when we first came to Spring Creek, and the parsonage became available, we faced the need of furniture. We promised our youngest son Turner that he could graduate from Paradise High School, where he has attended school except for two years. That meant we would keep our house in Runaway Bay until he finished school and therefore needed the furniture in that house until after his graduation. 

We did not have extra furniture for the parsonage. I knew I would spend part of my time in that house as well our oldest son. I did the only thing I knew to do. I started asking God for it. Asking for furniture without debt. We watched God over the past 14 months do some amazing things. The first pice of furniture given to us what a reclining sofa. Later two different people donated recliners. We were blessed with bunk beds and then a full size bed. We were blown away when someone else donated a queen size bed and matching dresser. Someone gave another recliner and then someone donated a leather couch.  We were blessed with a leather lounge chair. All in answer to prayer. 

The parsonage was fully furnished with the exception of a dining table. No big deal. We brought in a folding table from the church and a few chairs and all worked. God had something else in mind. Just after Christmas someone donated a dining table with six dining chairs. Another powerful demonstration of God's ability to provide. 

He was not finished. Just a few days ago I received a call from a student minister I have preached for on numerous occasions. Mark is a former running back for Texas Tech. Though in his sixties, he still plays flag football with his students every week. I thought he called to invite me to preach another event. This is when God blindsided me again with another blessing. He told me he and his wife Teresa felt led to give me their 2010 Chevrolet Crew Cab truck. It sits now under the car port at the parsonage ready to go when I get the title transferred and insurance on it. 

If you have kept up with these blogs, that makes four major miracles since Thanksgiving. If you are new to this let me catch you up. That means God has provided four vehicles for my family since Thanksgiving without one penny of debt. I prayed for the first three vehicles for three years. I did not even ask God for the fourth. Yet my truck has 282,000 miles on it. It doesn't look great with dings, dents and scrapes. It runs well and I contented myself to drive it. This 2010 truck has 120,000 less miles than the old one. Like I said, I was blindsided by blessing. All praise, glory and honor to God who hears our desperate prayers and intervenes in miraculous ways. 

What will God do next? I pray and wait to be blind sided by blessing again. When He does I will be sure to tell you all about it. I love to share these testimonies hoping to inspire you. What God has done for my family He can do for any of you who pray, persist and believe all things are possible with God.