You're getting old when you get the same sensation from a rocking chair that you once got from a roller coaster.
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Family News and Notes
DAYLIGHT SAVING TIME BEGAN AT
2:OO THIS MORNING! DID YOU REMEMBER???
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ALSO! SINCE THIS IS THE FIRST SUNDAY OF THE MONTH,
TODAY IS OUR BUILDING FUND DAY!
If you have planned and are able to make a contribution to that,
you may do so at the second passing of the contribution trays.
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Grady still needs Volunteers to clean the building during the month of April. So, if you are able to help in this endeavor please sign the Sign-Up Sheet on the table in the foyer. Thank you.
Our Ladies Day was held Saturday and the ladies will giving a report as to the success of the day.
On Tuesday, April 27th, Michael Light will speak to the Ladies Bible Class. The topic will be on the book of Esther. Class begins at 10:00 AM.
Perry and Josephine Cooper are at home and have not been doing well. They request that we keep them in our prayers.
Bill Jones enters M. D. Anderson in Houston on Monday morning for tests and consultation to determine what course of treatment is required for him.
Mary Hall has been sick at home.
Helen Roper is in Paris Regional Medical Center, 820 Clarksville St, Paris, Texas (Room 405). Her recent surgery went well.
Linda Walker of Rowlett (Ruby Pipken's daughter) will be having surger on Tuesday. She asks our prayers.
Clovis Davis recently had back surgery and then he broke it again. Will perhaps require further surgery and he needs our prayers.
Mount Vernon is having a Gospel Meeting April 18 thru 21 with Bro. Bill Burk. Also they will be having a Ladies Day on Saturday, April 21 beginning at 10:00 AM.
A note from Boles Children's Home:
"We are beginning a year of celebration as we approach our 80th birthday. The celebration will begin with a Homecoming on May 1, 2004. We invite you to come, and see what we have accomplished with your help throughout these years. During the past 80 years we have weathered many years of difficult challenges and we are continuing to face challenges today due to the economy. We continue to count on congregations like yours to help us make another successful 80 years."
For The Children, Ken Bonham
Church Relations Director
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PRAYER LIST:
Justin Barker, Louis Bell, Winell Blackard, Sue Browning,
Josephine Cooper, Perry Cooper, Barbara Duncan, Nelda Dunn,
Mary Hall, Howard Horton, Bill Jones, & Amy, Weldon Miller,
Winnie Patton, Alva Mae Sheets, Ola Mae Simpson
ALSO: Judy Betts, Clovis Davis, Diane Johnson, Velma Lucky, Larry McCain, Kelsey Meyers, Helen Roper, Delaney Upchurch,
Linda Walker
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Don't Miss Life's Rainbows
It was one of those days that give you a bad case of "Spring Fever." Down at the country schoolhouse, a red-haired freckle-faced boy sat gazing out of the windows of the third grade classroom, counting the minutes until the 3:00 o'clock bell would ring. Even the teacher could hardly keep her mind on her business and inside her classroom, for the beauty of nature on the other side of the glass was all but spellbinding!
It had rained hard all morning, but now the rain had stopped and the sun had broken out gloriously through the clouds, making everything sparkle as the light reflected off thousands of slowly evaporating water droplets. Washed of its impurities, the air was now crystal clear and smelled clean and fresh, the way it always does after a hard rain. The most beautiful sight of all was the sky in the east, which was ablaze with the dazzling hues of a perfect rainbow.
When the last bell finally rang, the little boy shot out of the door like a bullet to begin his long walk home. As soon as he was outside, he slipped off his shoes and socks and started down the muddy path toward home, delighting in the way the mud squished up between the toes of his now bare feet. As he walked along, he became completely absorbed with the beauty of God's creation all around him. He noticed the butterflies and bees flitting to and fro between the wild flowers. He scared a rabbit from its hiding place, and watched excitedly as it hopped away. He encountered two robins busily searching for worms that had wiggled up out of the flooded ground. Truly, the sights, sounds and smells were almost more than his senses could absorb.
But, then, something happened to draw his attention away from the symphony nature was performing all around him -- he stubbed his toe! When he looked down to see what he had tripped on, he found a silver dollar lodged in the crack of a rock. After retrieving the coin he continued down the path, but now he was completely oblivious to the majestic world around him, for his eyes were glued to the path, looking for more lost money.
Perhaps that story gives us a glimpse at the mirror of human nature. How many times do we become so side-tracked in looking at the stumbling blocks of life that we miss seeing life's glorious rainbows? Perhaps too often we get so busy with the pursuit of happiness that we don't have time to really enjoy the simple pleasures of life. Maybe we get so involved in the material rat race that we fail to appreciate the blessings that are already ours to enjoy. You know it's possible for us to get so self-absorbed in our own aches, pains, and misfortune, that we focus entirely on the negatives, thus failing to see the good and positive things God has done for us.
Don't do it! Don't squander your time wallowing in self-pity! Don't fall into the trap of looking for non-existent silver dollars! Don't waste your time on things that have no eternal meaning! Instead, spend your time concentrating on the truly important things in life. We must heed Paul's admonition to fill our lives with things that are: "true, honest, just, pure, lovely, of good report, virtuous, and praiseworthy" (Phil. 4:8). For truly, we have a message to share with the world that is more beautiful than the most glorious rainbow. But life, like the rainbow, is fleeting, therefore be careful not to stub your toe, lest you miss life's rainbows, and perhaps eternity with God. David McCain
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Rugged Individualism
The United States of America has always prided itself on its "rugged individualism." America built its legal code around individual rights. America's heroes have been revolutionaries such as Samuel Adams and Patrick Henry, pioneers such as Lewis and Clark and Daniel Boone, and others who have prevailed through their grit and determination. Americans have loved "rags-to-riches" stories and such tales which speak of the "little man" who overcomes the obstacles in his way. Rugged individualism has in large part contributed toward making America great. However, as saith the Preacher, "To every thing there is a season, and a time to every purpose under the heaven" (Ecclesiastes 3:1).
"Rugged individualism" does not always serve as the best approach to life. Individualism is defined as "the habit or principle of being independent and self-reliant." One problem with this approach is that it often puts the wants and needs of the individual above the collective good. By affirming that everyone must be self-reliant, one denies that there are times when help is needed. We are commanded, "Bear ye one another's burdens, and so fulfill the law of Christ" (Galatians 6:3). There are burdens each of us will need help bearing, and there are burdens others will need help bearing.
Self-styled "rugged individualists" often seek to privatize their faith. That is, they want to have a system of religion that is all their ownand anyone who endeavors to tell them that their faith is wrong is certain to lock horns with them. The Holy Spirit speaks of some, who "being ignorant of God's righteousness, and going about to establish their own righteousness, have not submitted themselves unto the righteousness of God" (Romans 10:3). Such a haughty spirit prohibits one from receiving the word with meekness, the manner in which it must be received to save one's soul (James 1:21; cf. I Corinthians 10:12).
Despite the fact that rugged individualism must be shunned in some ways, there are other forms in which it should be openly embraced; "For we must all appear before the judgment seat of Christ; that every one may receive the things done in his body, according to that he hath done, whether it be good or bad" (II Corinthians 5:10). We each have individual responsibility and accountability toward God. There is no one else who will answer for us, and no one else upon whom we can lay our blame on the day of Judgment if we ourselves have been found unfaithful. If the country as a whole is going the wrong direction, each of us must display rugged individualism in order to buck the trend, as did Josiah (II Kings 22-23). If the circle of companions with whom we find ourselves surrounded is going the wrong direction, each of us must display rugged individualism in order to buck the trend, as did Micaiah (I Kings 22:5-28). If our families are going the wrong direction, each of us must display rugged individualism in order to buck the trend, as did the apostle Paul (Philippians 3:5,7; cf. Matthew 10:37).
Don't be a rugged individualist; just show rugged individualismat the right times.Lee Moses
