It's Snowing Again!!!

It began yesterday, sleet and freezing rain at about 3:00.  So, when I left the church building, my windshield was covered with a thick, solid piece of ice.  And while I was busy scraping it off, the wind was howling around at about 30-40 mph (bbbbbrrrrrrrrrrrrrr). 

I got up early to take a friend to work, because he had a flat tire, and once again had to scrape, scrape, sssssccccccccrrrrrrraaaaaaaaaappppppppppppeeeeeeeeeeee ice from my windshield .  I had parked in my covered parking spot, thinking it would protect me, but apparently the wind blew the freezing rain in sideways, and plastered my windshield yet once again.  This most recent freeze moved the small crack in our windshield all the way to the other side, so I guess that will need to be replaced before the next inspection.

Today was kind of a lazy day.  I've been goofing around on Myspace more, and have been trying to form sort of a hub for Calvinists.  So, this week my friend count went from 80 to 690.  I think I'm going to purchase some software that will more automate the process, and save me some time.......  I've met several interesting people that have messaged me with questions about Calvinism, or various points of Reformed theology.  They seem to feel more comfortable talking to me because I'm a pastor, and they recognize the Westminster Seminary education.  I also had an interesting interchange with an athiest, but I won't go into that....  Eventually, I hope to use Myspace as a forum to send out short quips on things I'm studying.  Maybe the Spirit will use them for edification?

Tomorrow I'm preaching 2 Samuel 15:13-30.  This is the passage where Absalom (David's son) claims the throne of Israel for his own, and incites a civil war in Israel.  This is of course a judgment of God, carrying the prophecy of the prophet Nathan from chapter 12.  I wrote this sermon over 3 years ago!!!!  As I've been going back through the text, I find myself more and more disatisfied with the sermon that I was proud of when I was writing it for one of my homoletics courses .  So, I've been doing some major "remodeling" of the sermon today.  I imagine that will continue for the rest of my life, as I continue to grow over time in my understanding of the text and my ability to write and preach sermons increases.  Just a part of life I guess?

We got Nate a new bed yesterday.  I bought it on ebay from a local woman, and I got a great deal on it, BUT, she didn't mention she lived in the middle of nowhere, and really questioned if I could make it to her house w/o a 4 wheel drive truck!!!!!  Well, my friend and I made it in the mini-van, and it worked out ok, except she was a divorced older woman who was obviously lonely (for male companionship) and seriously talked our ears off.  But, we freecycled Nate's old firetruck bed, so that's gone now (whew)!

I've been playing my guitar more with my friend Miller, and we're beginning to write some songs together.  Maybe in a few months we'll lay some tracks down and I'll put a link to them.  I'm trying to learn more old bluegrass and country tunes.  I guess I'd characterize it as the stuff that's on the Oh Brother Where Art Thou soundtrack. 

Right now it's snowing outside, which really excites me!  I keep getting up every 5 minutes to look out the window.  I feel childish, but I like to see the snow fall, and then watch it blow around on the street below as the cars drive by.  However, I don't like scraping ice off my car!!!

Have a wonderful Lord's Day!   ~Andrew

It's Snowing Again!!!

It began yesterday, sleet and freezing rain at about 3:00.  So, when I left the church building, my windshield was covered with a thick, solid piece of ice.  And while I was busy scraping it off, the wind was howling around at about 30-40 mph (bbbbbrrrrrrrrrrrrrr). 

I got up early to take a friend to work, because he had a flat tire, and once again had to scrape, scrape, sssssccccccccrrrrrrraaaaaaaaaappppppppppppeeeeeeeeeeee ice from my windshield .  I had parked in my covered parking spot, thinking it would protect me, but apparently the wind blew the freezing rain in sideways, and plastered my windshield yet once again.  This most recent freeze moved the small crack in our windshield all the way to the other side, so I guess that will need to be replaced before the next inspection.

Today was kind of a lazy day.  I've been goofing around on Myspace more, and have been trying to form sort of a hub for Calvinists.  So, this week my friend count went from 80 to 690.  I think I'm going to purchase some software that will more automate the process, and save me some time.......  I've met several interesting people that have messaged me with questions about Calvinism, or various points of Reformed theology.  They seem to feel more comfortable talking to me because I'm a pastor, and they recognize the Westminster Seminary education.  I also had an interesting interchange with an athiest, but I won't go into that....  Eventually, I hope to use Myspace as a forum to send out short quips on things I'm studying.  Maybe the Spirit will use them for edification?

Tomorrow I'm preaching 2 Samuel 15:13-30.  This is the passage where Absalom (David's son) claims the throne of Israel for his own, and incites a civil war in Israel.  This is of course a judgment of God, carrying the prophecy of the prophet Nathan from chapter 12.  I wrote this sermon over 3 years ago!!!!  As I've been going back through the text, I find myself more and more disatisfied with the sermon that I was proud of when I was writing it for one of my homoletics courses .  So, I've been doing some major "remodeling" of the sermon today.  I imagine that will continue for the rest of my life, as I continue to grow over time in my understanding of the text and my ability to write and preach sermons increases.  Just a part of life I guess?

We got Nate a new bed yesterday.  I bought it on ebay from a local woman, and I got a great deal on it, BUT, she didn't mention she lived in the middle of nowhere, and really questioned if I could make it to her house w/o a 4 wheel drive truck!!!!!  Well, my friend and I made it in the mini-van, and it worked out ok, except she was a divorced older woman who was obviously lonely (for male companionship) and seriously talked our ears off.  But, we freecycled Nate's old firetruck bed, so that's gone now (whew)!

I've been playing my guitar more with my friend Miller, and we're beginning to write some songs together.  Maybe in a few months we'll lay some tracks down and I'll put a link to them.  I'm trying to learn more old bluegrass and country tunes.  I guess I'd characterize it as the stuff that's on the Oh Brother Where Art Thou soundtrack. 

Right now it's snowing outside, which really excites me!  I keep getting up every 5 minutes to look out the window.  I feel childish, but I like to see the snow fall, and then watch it blow around on the street below as the cars drive by.  However, I don't like scraping ice off my car!!!

Have a wonderful Lord's Day!   ~Andrew

Incarcerated

Today was a very full day.  After the morning worship service I drove out to the Prison to visit an inmate in the Clements Unit.  I came in contact with this man through a URC elder in another state who has been discipling him through correspondance Bible Study.

It is truly a picture of God's grace.  This man, who has been in prison for over 30 years has been gripped by God's grace, and has been given new life in Christ, He has been given an unfailing hope.

All mankind is incarcerated in sin and death.  We all deserve to be eternally locked up in hell.  However, Christ has taken our punishment and given us his perfect righteousness.  Instead of being damned, we are adopted.  We are members of God's family!  There is no greater gift.  There is no pearl of greater worth, and yet salvation cannot be purchased with money or works.  It is free!

It's Snowing!!!

Today Alethia turned 1 year old!!!  To celebrate we had some friends over, and gave Ali a healthy dose of chocolate cake.  She was very pleased .

During the party it beg an to snow!  It has already been in the 20's this afternoon, and now it's snowing like crazy.  We're expecting 3-5 inches of snow by morning.  It's awesome!  I went outside with Ela and beaned her with a snowball

So it was a great day.  Tomorrow will be very cold, with windchills as low as negative 10!!!!  I may work from home in the morning depending on the road conditions. 

I've done some updating to the CCPC Website.  I added a pastor's page for me, and will be uploading some new sermons soon.

The sermon on Job 31:1-12 was very well received.  It has sparked some fruitful discussions.  This coming Sunday evening will be the end of Job's appeal.  Then, it's on to Elihu!!

Peace Out, Andrew.

Praisegiving

Our thanksgiving went well.  We decided to stay in Amarillo for the holidays in order to spend some time together as a family unit without the stress of driving to San Antonio and back.  It was great to see our family recently, they all drove up for the ordination service!

Instead of cooking a whole turkey (as we normally do), we opted for just the turkey breast.  Billie and I don't really like dark meat, so that way we get the part we like the most .  We had a dear friend Julie over for lunch, and then we played Scrabble.  I won the first game, Julie won the second.

We dropped by the Brack's house in the afternoon to take their family portraits.  You can look at them here.  Then we went to the Rice's casa for dinner (more turkey, yum!).

Oh yea, last week my laptop died (YIKES!!!!).  I was able to recover my files from the hard drive, but the motherboard was fried by a power surge.  I just bought that thing 19 months ago......and only had a 1 year warranty on it.  So, I had to buy another one.  I opted for the Dell Inspiron E1705.  It's a much nicer machine than my old one, and I got a 3 year full warranty on it, so it should last me for a while (unlike my previous one)!  There's no convenient time for something like this to happy, but God has been gracious to us in allowing me to purchase another one right away.

Monergism.com, an awesome site that is filled with THOUSANDS of pages of great Reformed Theology, has started carrying a number of our Reformation Art prints and the Synod of Dordt Poster.  That's a neat development, as I've been talking w/ them for a while about ways we might partner up.

Tomorrow evening I'm preaching Job 31:1-12.  I'm applying the text mostly to the modern problem of pornography, which exists as much in the church as it does in the world.  I'm somewhat nervous approaching this subject.  I'm trying to be careful with my terminology so as to not needlessly offend people.  However, I want to speak plainly about this important issue.  I appreciate your prayers!  I'm going to err on the side of caution.

We spotted a mouse in our apartment last week, so we bought some traps and put them out with peanut butter on them.  Several days passed and nothing.....nada.......zilch..........zip.  Then 2 days ago, we wake up and there is a mouse in one of the traps, and he's still alive!  So, being "the man" it was my job to dispose of the little woodland creature.  Then this morning, there was another one!!!!  Two mice in two days.  My oldest boy, Nate was so excited to see it in the trap, he came in screaming the news at the top of his lungs.  He had been checking the traps every morning since we put them out.

In one sense I feel kind of bad killing the little guys.  When I was younger I had mice as pets.  But, I've also seen the damage they can do to a house, especially when they multiply and take over!!  The last thing I need is mice nesting in my computer, or chewing through the wires.  So, it is a necessity.  I might be inclined to use poison, but that's just not advisable with infants wandering the house.  The traps we use are plastic, and are designed to be safe around children.

Well, I've gotta go.  We're meeting the Bracks for dinner at a local restaurant called My Thai (yummy!).  The whole clan is here, which is cool b/c I haven't seen Colin in a decade!  We were homey's growing up at camp, and now he's married w/ a son of his own! 

I still need to get around to putting up pictures from the conference and my ordination.  I'll do that later