Atlantis Back Home - Sept. 20, 2006 - The Space Shuttle Atlantis leaves a streak of light as it passes near the Moon in the east at sunrise Wednesday, Sept. 20, 2006 over Tyler, Texas. In this six second time exposure, the Shuttle is moving right to left. 

My son Austin

  My  son Noah.

    In my devotions I've come to the place of the trial of Jesus.  No matter how hard they tried, the sanhedrin couldn't get two people to agree to one charge against Jesus.  What convicted Him?  His own words. Are you the Christ, the Son of the Blessed One?" "I am," said
Jesus.  That got Him crucified. 

I took this picture this morning from the front door of the church.

   
  I and two other Children's Pastor did Character Connex in the Garreston Elementary School yesterday.  We taught the character: "Kindness".  It was great interacting with all the children.  I particulary like the skit we did with the children.  The kids really got into it.  It was a version of the parable that Jesus taught.  -The guy that got robbed and beat up and no one would help except a samaraton.  Only we did the skit with a cheer leader, a school bully and a couple mean kids.  It went good.
    

    Jesus exposed Judas's plan and created the timing of the cross.  I struggle with "God in control" of every situation.  I'm a Little House on the Praire fan and I watch in nearly every day.  One eposode was Mary going blind.  Charles was sitting in the church and Rev Alden came in and talked to Charlies.  "I have to tell my daughter she's going blind, what should I tell her is the good in this?" Charles said.  In a later eposode Rev Alden in a sermon referrs to that dark night.  Rev Alden is crying because the town is dispursing because of the rail road.  He is crying saying, "Last night I contemplated what to say. I was confused, hurt and puzzeled why God would allow evil men to do this.  Then I remembered the night I talked to a member of this congregation.  I told him that God had a good plan.  Mary Engels is here now and is going to be a teacher at a blind school.  We now see God's plan."
  

We had an interesting last night. My wife woke me up around midnight saying, "There are car lights in our tree."  I thought she was having some kind of dream and planned on going back to sleep.  "I'm not joking" she  yelled.  I ran down stairs and out the front door.  There was a car buried in our evergreen tree.  A guy was trying to get out the door.  He was yelling, "Nicole".  I got the door opened for him and he staggered out, telling me I had better tell him where Nicole was at.  My wife called the police and they arrived shortly.  My older daughter had just got off work and was in the kitchen.  She came outside and told the police officer that she had heard a noise in the back yard.  The police radioed, "We have someone else that needs to be located."  The police officer put the guy in his car and took his flashlight and began to look in the back yard for Nicole.  The guy got out of the police car and was headed towards the road.  (I thought he was going to get hit.)  I called his name and told him to stay here.  The police officer got him back in the car.  At that time a few more police cars pulled up and a crowd formed.  It was funny because 2 were guys were drunk as well.  One of the guys thought the police was looking for him because he was underage.  Another police car pulled up and Nicole exited the car.  She staggered to the first police car.  An ambulance came and took her away.  (She looked OK, just a little blood on her forehead.)  A wrecker pulled the car out of the tree - along with our hose that was wrapped around the front axil and a lawn ornament that was wrapped around the back axil.  And that was the start of our anniversary.           

   Another result of instant gradification is no romance.  Imagine a world with no romance at all.  It's difficult to find a good movie today that involves romance without instant gradification.  If I'm wrong please tell me.  You may have to watch a movie from the 70 or 80's in order to see that.    I went to http://www.pluggedinonline.com/ in order to review the top movies.  It proved my point.  What will human beings look like when all romance is gone?  It could look like this: "They all did what was right in their own eyes."  "They drew sin along with cords of deceit, and wickedness as with
cart ropes".  Isaiah 5:18-30    God is a God of pure romance.  -Song of Solomons