According the Grandpa Jim, Christian arrived at 2:30 AM this morning (August 7, 2012), weighing in at 8 pounds and 10.8 ounces, and standing 21 1/4 inches tall!

Congrats to Caryn and Alexandre!

Thanks to Nachamu Ami, we have a new church sign!
How cool is that!

Martin Luther’s book, “The Freedom of a Christian,” is one of my favorites. I say that not only because he wrote it, but also because of what he said! In my opinion, modern-day Christians do not read nearly enough of these GIANTS of the church. This book was originally written in 1523 (that is close) but it is still relevant for today—very relevant! Sadly, far too many Christians have grown accustom to what amounts to pious pabulum and, consequently, never eat a meal of solid spiritual food, the kind that stretches one out of his comfort zone and makes him think—really think—about what he believes, the kind that oftentimes requires the casting aside of long-held beliefs in order to embrace the truth.
Just as an appetizer, maybe a heavy hors d’oeuvre, listen to this quote from his book [p.50]: “In order to make the way smoother for the average or common readers (for only them do I serve), I will put forth two themes concerning the freedom and bondage of the spirit: (1) A Christian is lord of all, completely free of everything; (2) A Christian is a servant, completely attentive to the needs of all.”
How is that for an apparent contradiction? Sounds a lot like the apostle Paul, if I am not mistaken [See 1 Corinthians 9:19; Romans 13:8; and Philippians 2:6-7]. This should not be a surprise because Paul is the very man (with all of his “apparent” contradictions) that God used to open the eyes of Luther and allow him to taste of the graciousness of God, a taste that forever changed the course of his life!
If anyone ever believed that a Christian is free, Paul did and that without reservation; obviously, Luther was smitten with the very same truth. Even so, both of these men would be the first to tell us that because we are free, we have the privilege of serving those whom God places in our lives. The truth is they [Paul & Luther] would tell us that you cannot have one without the other and in my opinion they would be correct.
You see, it works like this: One the one hand, God does NOT need any of us to help Him with anything; in fact, He can carry on quite handily without our help. However, on the other hand, our neighbor DOES need us and God has sent us on a mission to be salt and light to him or her or them, for that matter.
If you are free (and you are, whether or not you know it), then you have the time to be on His mission! If you don’t, then you are probably like most freed slaves—afraid to be free! Go ahead and taste of the graciousness of the Lord! You will not regret it!

Normally, I do not give sermons titles; don’t ask me why, I just don’t. However, this Sunday’s message will be different, as I am giving it a title: “Back to the Place Where My Soul Finds its True Poise.”

I really hope you will be able to attend, as I do believe this is a very pertinent message.

The following is an excerpt: Most, if not all, of us have experienced those times when, for reasons unknown to us, the “wheels begin to run off our wagons.” During these times, it seems that everything that can go wrong goes wrong and we are losing our grip on life. If we should dare to be so honest, we would admit that we feel much like Job must have felt when he sat in sack cloth and ashes in the middle of the road.

Most importantly, we begin to feel that God has forsaken us, that He no longer loves us. We begin to feel what the Psalmist talks about in Psalm 73, that the God favors the evil and causes the righteous to suffer, that God is, therefore, being unfair.

When this occurs, we begin to focus on what we have done wrong, on how we have offended God, on what sins we might have committed, and, to be honest, we get angry at God (though we have a hard time admitting it). We are, thus, in that place where the soul has lost its poise.

The Question: How to we return our souls to that place of true poise?

Roger’s oncologist gave him some IV fluids along with anti-nausea medication. He was feeling better this PM. We all are so very thankful for this bit of good news. He was able to eat lunch and he and Barbara spent some time with Bob and Joanne. On the 31st he has another round of the chemo!

Kathy Almand had an endoscope this PM and the Doc said she does have a severe hiatal hernia. Biopsies were done and they will meet with the Doc on the 6th to discuss surgery. If all goes as planned, this procedure will really help Kathy!

Keep both families in your prayers!

I just talked with Roger and he is one sick man. The chemo is really kicking his behind. He is able to eat small amounts and drink some liquids. He is nauseated and very weak. I was going to go to their house, but decided against it because he is so sick. He has a Doc’s appointment tomorrow, along with an appointment with a Senator, who is going to attempt to get him on Medicare. I do not know how he will hold out for the two appointments: one in Macon and the other in Warner Robins.
I will talk with him tomorrow and learn more about what we can do to help finish the inside of the house.
As you might imagine, Barbara is having a very difficult time traveling this road.
Please keep both of these precious people in your prayers.

Covered dish tomorrow after our service AND a shower for Caryn Reeves!
See you then!

Roger had a three hour round of chemo this morning, which has left him decidedly weak. As you know, he is trying to finish the inside of their house and this is not helping. His son will be back down next week end to do some more work. If all goes as planned we will hire some carpenters to do some of the work. I have assured Barbara and Roger that we will do whatever we can to help them through this part of their journey.

I think Mildred went home today.

Mildred Brandful is still in the Coliseum Hospital, Room 519, waiting test results. Hopefully, they will come today.

As far as I know now, Roger is beginning chemo today.

Please keep these dear folk in your prayers.

George and Ann Nettle’s son had a bad mountain bike accident in Colorado. He has several broken bones, punctured lung, broken ribs, etc. He is in ICU. Please remember him and them in your prayers.
Grace and peace,
Mac