Daffodils

Here are some recent pictures of daffodils that have recently been in bloom in our area.




One day while outside I was completely taken by how fast these flowers come up and how quickly they orient themselves to the sun. Over the course of a few hours these plants break through the surface reach toward the sky, and then with a explosion of color, burst into bloom overnight. I like that they always point to the sun. I'm trying to learn something from that.

What's New

It seems like the last few weeks have been a blur since we returned from our trip to Florida. Weekend before last the guys from Inside Out came up to Mena to play the Rocking the Rose Show at the Mena Airport. They were absolutely great. Here are a few pics from their concert. We also took some great video and I am trying to find some time to edit it and put it into some sort of usable form.



After staying up hanging out with the guys, we got up bright and early to head to Texarkana for a Piker family portrait. It was a very fun day as well. Here are some pictures from our meal together and a silly shot of Jerrod Piker eating strawberry pie.



Sunday was also a great day, in the afternoon we had a great day in the park. All the kids played on the playground, and in the sand. Here are some pictures of that afternoon.





After that the week came on pretty fast. Jennifer and I have a lot to do on the upcoming Pastor's Conference here at Iron Mountain. Then out of the blue, I hurt my back on Tuesday. Turns out, it was pretty rough for the next few days. So I spent the rest of the week trying to recover. During that time they poured the slab at the new house site. We are so excited.

This week is going much better and we are getting alot done.

New Bike?

Things are in the works to get this cute little Honda CBR 600 F2. Plans are to paint it and make it my own.

Ministry Pics from the Road

On February 20, we stopped into Cabot High School in Cabot Arkansas for a special service that they were having. There was a group of teenage guys there that had a worship band, and they were really good. I was privileged to get to talk with this group for a few minutes. What I am always so amazed by is how passionate for Jesus some teenagers can be. In my life I fight apathy on a moment by moment basis, so it always spurs me just a little to see someone of any age who really cares about something. There were a few teenagers in Cabot who were taking their life and purpose for the Kingdom of God very seriously. I really liked seeing that. From there we shot over to Memphis, spent the night in a hotel, and drove the next day to Atlanta.

The Florida state CMA rally was held at Camp Keystone, a Salvation Army facility near Keystone Heights, Florida. The place was truly amazing. Beautiful grounds with plenty of rooms and meeting places, as well as fun activities like a great lake, and a putt-putt course. We had a great room to meet with teenagers, and some CMA friends from Orlando organized everything in a great way. We met Friday evening, Saturday morning and Saturday evening and did a whole lot of hanging out in between. Saturday evening especially we had a great time of worship and got the opportunity to pray for the young people who wanted us to. It was a very special time. We also made some really great contacts in helping us establish local CMA youth movements in Florida.

Back in Town

It is good to be back home. After an amazing few weeks we are finally back home and have, as always, hit the ground running. I am going to attempt to blog all the things that happened over the past few weeks during which I have been a horrible blogger.

We were excited to see new progress on the house site on Iron Mountain. Check out these pictures.



The Block work was finished around the end of February and it has been backfilled and the plumbing has been started.

Jen and I are still on the road, and we will be back to Mena after this weekend. There is lots to tell so check back in soon. We saw the Passion, we went to a CMA Rally in Florida, and visited some friends in Jacksonville. I also spent a little time at Bike Week in Daytona. More to come...

Passion Hype

As I have commented here earlier, we are all swept away with the hype surrounding Mel Gibson's The Passion of the Christ. Like so many others, I have opinions before I have even seen the movie. Even though I feel some weird feelings about it, I have already bought my tickets for Wednesday Night.

Spencer Burke of The Ooze, has once again captured some of my misgivings in this interesting article. Check it out here.

Nostalgia

Yesterday was a very interesting day. In the morning we went to church with my Mom and Dad. It was a really great service. I am always flooded with emotions when I go back to the church where I spent my teenage life. I was very thankful for all the ways that God has carried me through life. He spoke to me so many times at that church, it was cool to visit.

After a good morning of nostalgia, I thought I would take it up a notch. So in the evening I went to visit Mableton Assembly of God where I went to church until I was 12. Talk about memories. My Grandma and Grandpa still go to church there and some of the same people were around. As we sang and prayed I remembered so many faces and services. I think that sometimes it is good to remember your heritage, and that's what I did.

After the service, Jennifer and I had a quick bite with Jeremy, my cousin and his wife Sue. It was a really good time as well. Jeremy is one of the most loving and compassionate and completely real persons you will ever meet. We had a few laughs and enjoyed our short time together.

Notes from the Road

We have had a great couple of days. This week flew by as we made preparations for this next weeks trip to the Florida State CMA Rally and Daytona Bike week. When we finally left Mena Friday we stopped in for a Bible Club meeting with some students at Cabot High School in Arkansas. There was a band of students that played some great worship music and then we talked to them for a few minutes. All in all a very good night. From there we shot over to Memphis, got some sleep there and drove the rest of the way to Atlanta today. Tonight we are hanging out with my Mom and Dad and enjoying some time together. We plan on going to church with them tomorrow and spending the next few days here. I know it is going to be fun.

A Drop in the Bucket
Frances Moore Lappe

We’re just a drop in the bucket, and that’s meaningless. But we say, ‘No, wait a minute. If you have a bucket, those raindrops fill it up very fast. Being a drop in the bucket is magnificent.’ The problem is we cannot see the bucket. Our work is helping people see that there is a bucket. There are all these people all over the world who are creating this bucket of hope. And so our drops are incredibly significant.

~It is really hard to maintain this type of perspective. One of the things that I feel the Lord is teaching Jennifer and I is that we need to become one of these people who call attention to the fact that there is a "bucket". We should be encouraging people that their little bit does matter, and that their role isn't insignificant, rather it is "magnificient".