A Salute To Sarah!!

So lately I've been posting alot of pics of Mr Matthew but thats just because thats all my sister has been sending me! And I was just looking through my pics and saw some great ones of Miss Sarah, or shall we say, "Miss Personality!" So I'll just post some pics of Sarah at her best and let the pics speak for themselves!! Enjoy!!

Peace's Pipeline

I was watering the garden with a hose when suddenly the water stopped flowing. I put the hose down to investigate and found that there was a kink in the hose. Once I straightened the hose the water flowed again. It was not the first time I had encountered this problem. But, each time it happens, it reinforces an obvious fact; No matter how adequate the source may be, the resource cannot reach its destination if the pipeline is not in place or it is obstructed.

God promises His people a "peace that transcends all understanding to guard their hearts and minds in Christ Jesus." (Philippians 4:7) Don't misunderstand this peace. It is not absence of conflict or problems. No, this peace defies explanation because we possess it when, by world standards, we should not. This peace is a gift from God, not a result of circumstances. This peace is the quiet confidence that situations, circumstances, or people do not determine we are or what we will become. This peace is contentment in Christ, knowing "that we can do all things through Him who gives us strength." This peace is the "peace of God," imparted to us by grace.

When such a peace is available, why is it so often missing from our lives? Why is it that our hearts and minds are being crushed by life's load, rather than being guarded by His inexplicable peace? Chances are we are either not connected to the pipeline or there is a kink in it.

Paul clearly notes that the pipeline for peace is prayer. (Philippians 4:4-6) Prayerlessness cuts us off from the means God has established to impart His peace. The promise that God's peace will guard our hearts and minds follows the conjunctive "and," revealing that what precedes must be done in order to have what follows. "In everything, by prayer and thanksgiving, present your requests to God." Many times we forfeit God's peace because we do not pray. Prayer is the means by which His peace flows into our lives. That is the reason for the forceful injunction, "in everything!" Prayer is faith and dependence in action. When we neglect prayer we are going it alone and the resources available to us go untapped. In everything pray!

There are also a couple of kinks that are identified in this passage. They are anxiousness, and thanklessness. Anxiousness, worry, renders us incapable of rejoicing in the Lord always. Anxious minds and hearts are consumed by the problem. Worry focuses on the problem, not God. Anxiety troubles the heart and confuses the mind compounding the situation by making seem it insurmountable. Jesus forthrightly told His disciples, "Do not worry about your life!" (Matthew 6:25) Here that admonition is reiterated; "Do not be anxious about anything." Not many years ago the song "Don't Worry, Be Happy!" was very popular. The Christian version, a much better version I might add, is, 'Don't Worry, Be Prayerful!" Anxiousness crimps peace's pipeline. Trusting in the Lord keeps the line from clogging up, allowing God's peace to flow freely into our lives.

Thanklessness blinds us to God's steadfast love and faithfulness. Gratitude opens our eyes to God's grace and numberless blessings. Grateful hearts are flooded with reminders of God's faithfulness to us in the past. Grateful hearts rejoice in the Lord and sing a song of victory, blessing, and joy, even in the midst of life's storms. For those in Christ, there is always something to praise and thank God for. If pain, sorrow, or crisis dims our sight so that we cannot see anything to praise God for, then, we praise and thank Him for being God, for His faithfulness, and for His everlasting Word. We praise and thank Him for His salvation and the privilege of being His child. To be His and to be in right relationship with Him is reason enough for praise and thanksgiving. Thanklessness puts a kink in the pipeline. Thankfulness keeps the pipeline open allowing God's peace to flow unobstructed into our lives."

Beloved, let us not forfeit this peace that God offers us. Let us "rejoice in the Lord always and be anxious for nothing, but in everything, by prayer and thanksgiving, present our requests to God." Then, let us open our hearts and minds to receive "the peace of God which transcends all understanding" allowing it "to guard our hearts and minds in Christ Jesus."

Keep Close To Jesus

Pastor Gerry

A Pause To Ponder God's Word is written and distributed by Gerald Whetstone, Ordained Elder and teacher in the Church of the Nazarene. These devotionals may be transmitted, duplicated, used in part or in entirety without permission for nonprofit purposes only. Responses welcome.

Fed-up Church Members Stand Guard, Apprehend Burgler

Taken from NCNNews.com

West Palm Beach, Florida

Wednesday, March 29, 2006

(Palm Beach Post)

For two months, they spent their nights as volunteer security guards in their burglary-plagued house of God.

The vigilance paid off early Friday, March 24 when a suspected burglar broke through a window and encountered a half-dozen church members wielding baseball bats and broom handles. When police arrived, at about 1 a.m., they found the man battered and bound with rope on the roof outside a second-story window of the Church of the Nazarene in northern West Palm Beach, Florida.

"We think it was the same burglar who broke in two months ago. He used the same window," said Aristeo Paxtor, 31, who was the first to confront the suspect.

The action began around 12:50 a.m. when the makeshift guards, waiting in the dark, heard the pattering of footsteps on the roof. They then heard a window break, and one dialed 911.

Paxtor was the first to make contact, swinging a bat at the suspect as he opened a door, striking him across the chest and sending him reeling backward.

By then, volunteer guard Esteban Mendoza had made his way to the roof and was waiting for the suspect to scramble out the same window he entered. When he was halfway out the window, Mendoza hit him in the back with a bat, according to police reports.

Using rope purchased just for this occasion, the volunteers tied him up and waited for police to arrive.

"We were simply defending ourselves and our church," said Juan Delfin, 26, one of the volunteers. "The police can't be everywhere."

Police arrested Ralph Thomas, 47, and charged him with burglary and possession of burglary tools. Thomas has been arrested 27 times since 1981, including six times on burglary charges, according to state records.

He was taken to a nearby hospital for cuts on his legs, broken fingers and broken ribs, West Palm Beach police spokesman Ted White said.

The church members are not under investigation for their actions, White said.

"They were trying to protect themselves," White said. "At the very least, they were trying to protect the property."

Church pastor Galo Poveda said his congregation of mostly Guatemalan and Mexican immigrants was frustrated about the three burglaries they have endured in the year since he purchased the building.

"The neighborhood is not the greatest," he said. "To survive, you have to protect yourself."

Despite the biblical admonition to turn the other cheek, Poveda used the Bible to justify the use of violence to capture the suspect.

"The thief only comes to steal, kill, and destroy," Poveda said, quoting from the book of John.

Some of the volunteer guards suggested that righteous indignation sometimes calls for forceful action.

"When someone comes in and steals in the house of God, we have to protect those things," Paxtor said.

The volunteer guards, six at a time, stood watch from 10 p.m. to daylight, sleeping in shifts on sofas — three upstairs, three downstairs — while some remained awake. Each stayed awake for two-hour intervals.

Delfin said the church would have installed alarms or video cameras, but the building has no electricity.

Poveda said the city demanded so many improvements when he took over the building a year ago that he hasn't been able to get the permits to open.

Services at the church, called the Iglesia del Nazareno Belen, are held during daylight hours on Sundays. Poveda said he needs to hold services or face losing his 200-strong congregation.

Burglars stole about $1,200 in cash after the church moved into the building, he said. Two months ago, about $7,000 worth of property was taken, including audio equipment.

The team guarding the building the night of March 23 included five Guatemalan immigrants and one immigrant from Mexico. The guards said the suspect had an accomplice waiting in a truck, but the truck pulled away when it was apparent the building was occupied.

Delfin said the suspect was carrying a flashlight and a hammer, but insisted after his capture that he wasn't trying to steal anything, Delfin said.

"He said he didn't have any money for rent and that he comes to the church to sleep," Delfin said. "We knew that wasn't true."

--Palm Beach Post

Alabama Church Destroyed By Suspicious Blaze

Taken from NCNNews.com

Hayden, Alabama
Monday, March 27, 2006

The Faith Church of the Nazarene in Hayden, Alabama was destroyed by fire on March 24. The fire marked the eleventh church fire in the Birmingham area since February 3.

Hayden lies within Blount County, approximately 25 miles north of Birmingham.

The cause of a fire remains under investigation but has been labeled as suspicious, said Ragan Ingram, deputy commissioner of the Alabama Department of Insurance.

Blount County Sheriff Danny Morton told the Birmingham News the fire apparently originated in the back buildings of the church.

A truck driver reported the fire — which was visible from nearby Interstate 65 — around 2 a.m., Morton said. No one was injured.

Phillip Sessions, pastor of the church, told the Birmingham News the church consisted of a main building and two trailers. When he received a call shortly after 2 a.m., Sessions said, he went to the scene.

"The trailers were about burned down, and the auditorium had started burning," he said.

Additional news reports stated the sanctuary/auditorium later collapsed.

Although he has received no official word that the fire was arson, Sessions said, "the ATF [was investigating], and I think they found something."

The church was 15 years old, he said, with 69 members. Sessions became pastor November 1, 2005. The church is part of the Alabama North District.

"We just lost ‘things,’ and we can get most of those back," he said. "It will present some difficulty keeping our members together until we rebuild, but I think we will grow stronger."

The congregation held services on Sunday, March 26 in the nearby Warrior High School gymnasium.

Earlier this month, three Birmingham college students were arrested in connection with a string of nine rural Alabama church fires. The trio faces state and federal charges.

According to CNN, the students remain in police custody. In court documents, they described the church fires as a joke that "got out of hand."

CNN reports no charges have been brought in connection with a tenth fire on February 11 in Lamar County, Alabama.
--Birmingham News, CNN (CNN photo)

Isn't There Some Misunderstanding?

Taken from My Utmost for His Highest by Oswald Chambers

" 'Let us go to Judea again.' The disciples said to Him, '...are You going there again?' " (John 11:7-8)

Just because I don't understand what Jesus Christ says, I have no right to determine that He must be mistaken in what He says. That is a dangerous view, and it is never right to think that my obedience to God's directive will bring dishonor to Jesus. The only thing that will bring dishonor is not obeying Him. To put my view of His honor ahead of what He is plainly guiding me to do is never right, even though it may come from a real desire to prevent Him from being put to an open shame. I know when the instructions have come from God because of their quiet persistence. But when I begin to weigh the pros and cons, and doubt and debate enter into my mind, I am bringing in an element that is not of God. This will only result in my concluding that His instructions to me were not right. Many of us are faithful to our ideas about Jesus Christ, but how many of us are faithful to Jesus Himself? Faithfulness to Jesus means that I must step out even when and where I can't see anything (see Matthew 14:29). But faithfulness to my own ideas means that I first clear the way mentally. Faith, however, is not intellectual understanding; faith is a deliberate commitment to the Person of Jesus Christ, even when I can't see the way ahead.

Are you debating whether you should take a step of faith in Jesus, or whether you should wait until you can clearly see how to do what He has asked? Simply obey Him with unrestrained joy. When He tells you something and you begin to debate, it is because you have a misunderstanding of what honors Him and what doesn't. Are you faithful to Jesus, or faithful to you ideas about Him? Are you faithful to what He says, or are you trying to compromise His words with thoughts that never came from Him? "Whatever He says to you, do it" (John 2:5).

Things Jesus Did Not Do

It is clear that John was very selective with the miracles and teachings of Jesus he included in his gospel. Not wanting anyone to think that these were all His works, John acknowledges at the end of his gospel, "Jesus did many other miraculous signs in the presences of His disciples, which are not recorded in this book -- If everyone one of them were written down, I suppose that even the whole world would not have room for the books that would be written." (20:30; 21:25) There is no denying Jesus accomplishments in His short life on earth are astonishing. But, while considering all that Jesus did another incredible often overlooked and rarely noted thing about Jesus surfaces-the many things Jesus did not do. Think for a few moments about all the things Jesus did not do.

This may seem an odd thing to point out. We are more accustomed to listing activity. The more a person does the more important they are. Awards are presented with speeches that chronicle the recipient's accomplishment and involvements. The more organizations and companies they are involved in the more impressed we are and the higher we esteem them. Why then bother considering what Jesus did not do?

Jesus is our example and the example He set for us includes a focused life. For Jesus doing the will of the Father was the core of His every action. "My food is to do the will of Him Who sent me and to finish His work." (John 4:24) Jesus allowed nothing to divert Him from this. Luke tells us that "Jesus resolutely set out for Jerusalem," and when others attempted to convince Him otherwise, He refused to be distracted. You see, faithfulness to the will of God requires not doing as well as doing - for Jesus and for us.

How did we get deluded into believing that we can and are suppose to do everything? Why have we bought into the bazaar western concept that busier is better and everyone should be able to do everything they want to do? When did we fall victim to the philosophy that abundant life is defined by how much we do? The ancient adage, "If you want to defeat them, distract them," is true both physically and spiritual. One very effective way of distracting someone is to get him/her busy doing so much they don't have time to do what they need to. As someone once said, "if Satan can't get you to sin, he makes you busy."

There was a man who lived in the desert. He dressed rather oddly, even for his day, and his diet was very unusual - locus and honey. When John wrote about this man in his gospel he simply stated that he "did no great work but everything he said about Jesus was true." This man, whose only achievement, whose only legacy, was truthful and faithful speech about Jesus, is the man that Jesus said; "among those born of women there has not risen anyone greater than John the Baptist." (Matthew 11:11)

It is absolutely imperative that we maintain our life's focus,which must be as Jesus, the will of the Father. We need to awaken to satanic wiles of distraction. We need to recognize the fallacy that importance and greatness is determined by accomplishments. It's time for Christians to refuse to be drawn into the suicidal lifestyle of trying to do and be everything. We must be ruthless with our schedules and prayerfully prudent about everything we involve ourselves in.

Beloved, let us slow down, dare we even stop for a time, and contemplate the life of Jesus, considering not only His great accomplishments, but what He did not do as well.

Keep Close To Jesus
Pastor Gerry

A Pause To Ponder God's Word is written and distributed by Gerald Whetstone, Ordained Elder and teacher in the Church of the Nazarene. These devotionals may be transmitted, duplicated, used in part or in entirety without permission for nonprofit purposes only.

More Matthew Moments!!

Compelling Love

What is the driving force in your life? What is it that lifts you out of your seat compelling you to get involved? What compels you to take action? What gets your spiritual adrenaline flowing? Is there a single motivator or are there as many different motivators as there are people?

There have been workshops, seminars, and conferences galore attempting to answer the question; how do we motivate people to get involved in ministry? But is this a valid question? Should we have to discover tools and methods to motivate God’s people to action? The Apostle Paul answer to this comes through loud and clear as he proclaims, "Christ's love compels us..." (2 Corinthians 5:14a)

For us - new creatures in Christ Jesus, those who have been reconciled to God through Christ (see 2 Corinthians 5:17-21) - Christ's love is the compelling force. All other motivators are inferior and fall by the wayside. We cannot get away from the straight forward succinct truth; Christ's love is the compelling driving force in our lives.

This verse is more powerful than a cursory reading reveals. The word used for "compels" denotes: "to be claimed, totally controlled, held in custody, fully occupies." One Bible scholar translates this verse, "The love of Christ completely dominates me." Christ’s love fills us and drives us. It will not allow us to remain inactive, or sit on the sidelines.

Wait! There is more. It is not grammatically clear whether the clause "Christ's love" is subjective, objective, and possessive. There is not need to attempt and decipher which one is the correct one, for they are all correct. It is as if Paul deliberately wrote it to denote all three possibilities. Christ's love for me, my love for Christ, and Christ's love in me are all involved in catapulting us into action.

When face to face with the wondrous reality of Christ's love for us, how can anything less than a full and complete commitment to Him and His way be considered. Isaac Watts penned it well in his hymn:

When I survey the wondrous cross,
On which the Prince of Glory died,
My Riches gain I count but loss,
And pour contempt on all my pride.
Were the whole realm of nature mine
That were a present far too small.
Love so amazing, so divine,
Demands my soul, my life, my all!

Christ's love for me compels me to nothing less than total commit to Him and holy living in everything I am and do!

Made new in Christ give us a new perspective. We do not look at things from a "worldly point of view" any longer. (2 Corinthians 5:16) In response to His perfect love that He has lavished upon us, we love Him with all our hearts, souls, minds, and strength. Only complete consecration to Him will do. We must serve Him and live as He directs. Anything and everything we do, we want to glorify Him and direct people's attention to Him. It is not about us - It is about Him, is the theme of our daily walk. Our love for Him demands nothing less!

His love in us compels us to live as He lived, to serve as He served and to give as He gave. We no longer live for ourselves, but for Him who died and rose again for us. Compassionate service is instinctive, flowing naturally to those in need. Christ's love is poured out into our hearts as we in faith consecrate ourselves wholly to Him. His "perfect love" purifies our hearts that we will one will with Him. His love having taken up residence in our hearts, the seat of our very being, establishes itself as the compel-er of our lives. As His love compel Him to "count His equality with God as something not to be grasp, but emptied Himself, taking on the form of a servant and became obedient even unto death," so His love in us compels us to pour out our lives, lay down our lives, be a servant, and obey God in all things.

His love for me, my love for Him, and His love in me is the driving, compelling, motivating, force in our lives. The question that confronts us is not;
how do we motivate God’s people to be involved in ministry? The question is; why are the not motivated? The only answer for not being compelled is we are resisting, squelching, hindering or suppressing Christ’s love. Beloved, let us yield to Christ and His love. Let us nurture and nourish God's gift that is ours in Christ Jesus, so that our hearts will burn with holy passion, compelling us in every way and every thing to live and ministry for Him. "For the Christ's love compels us!"

Keep Close to Jesus
Pastor Gerry

A Pause To Ponder God's Word is written and distributed by Gerald Whetstone, Ordained Elder and teacher in the Church of the Nazarene. These devotionals may be transmitted, duplicated, used in part or in entirety without permission for nonprofit purposes only. Responses welcome.

X-Rated 'children's' books outrage students' parents

Titles on required-reading lists, offerings in libraries include bestiality, sex drawings

Posted: March 15, 20061:00 a.m. Eastern
By Ron Strom© 2006 WorldNetDaily.com

Parents across the nation are taking action against both school districts and libraries that feature books, some of them required reading, that include sexual issues and obscenity many believe are inappropriate for school children.

In Overland Park, Kan., parents have organized to protest the inclusion of obscene books on children's assigned reading lists in the Blue Valley School District. The parents took action after a few of them researched the books kids were being asked to read.

"[My son] is a 14-year-old freshman boy, and [the book] had references to oral sex and homosexuality. … I thought it was a mistake!" Janet Harmon, one of the Blue Valley parents, told activist group Concerned Women for America.

The Kansas parents eventually started a website, Classkc.org, designed to inform parents about the contents of their children's reading material and about how to get involved to make changes.
The site includes pages with explicit examples of narrative bestiality and oral sex, citing the school board-approved books from which the excerpts come.

Says Classkc.org: "The state should not have open season on when, where and how to indoctrinate and form children's sexual attitudes, but rather … the parents should have the primary role in values education and overall worldview, particularly in the area of sexual values, for their own children."

The site lists books on the high-school reading list along with their level of reading score as determined by the Lexile grade-level system.

Books assigned to 11th and 12th grade Blue Valley students, such as "Song of Solomon" (not the biblical book) and "Beloved," are given fifth and sixth grade levels of difficulty by the Lexile system.

"The books, therefore, are not only vulgar but provide little intellectual challenge for high-school students," Concerned Women for America points out.

"Beloved," by Toni Morrison, was assigned to 12th-graders but has a sixth-grade reading level.
"'Beloved' contains oral sex, incest, rape, pedophilia, graphic sex, extreme violence, sexual abuse, physical/emotional abuse, infanticide, and an extensive amount of profanity," states the classkc.org website. "The first two chapters contain five references to sex with cows in addition to other types of sex."

The Kansas parents wonder why classics such as Charles Dickens' "David Copperfield" and Herman Melville's "Moby Dick" don't top the reading list.

Elsewhere, parents have battled public libraries, which are increasingly stocking so-called young-adult novels that include vulgarity and overt sexuality.

Said a Texas homeschooling grandmother who contacted WND: "The 'Young Adult Novel' is a growing genre in 'literature.' The problem is, the books are foul and vile, filled with sexuality, homosexuality, terrible profanity and various other kinds of perversity. And the American Library Association works hard at keeping them available to our children. Any attempt to remove any of these books is labeled censorship by the ALA. They fight tooth and nail."

A website sponsored by Parents Against Bad Books in School includes an extensive list of typical young-adult novels along with obscene excerpts from each one.

Stated PABBIS in a recent statement about the American Library Association: "The un-American ALA has taken the American constitutional right of freedom of speech and has perverted it into their right to push graphic and explicit smut on children. ALA and ALA affiliate brown boot bullies are constantly working to implement their weird social Marxist agenda. What started, purportedly, as a professional union-like organization for librarians has morphed into a powerful, dangerous, leftist, extremist organization."

"The ALA believes 'anything goes at any age' and that there is no difference between children and adults," continued PABBIS. "ALA and ALA affiliates decide what books your children should read. They push smut in both public and school libraries. They decide what is read in English class. Their vision of what is best for your child doesn't include traditional classic literature. Smut-filled, 'culturally diverse,' easy-reading books are being pushed instead."

The ALA's "Freedom to Read Statement" says: "The freedom to read is essential to our democracy. It is continuously under attack. Private groups and public authorities in various parts of the country are working to remove or limit access to reading materials, to censor content in schools, to label 'controversial' views, to distribute lists of 'objectionable' books or authors, and to purge libraries. These actions apparently rise from a view that our national tradition of free expression is no longer valid; that censorship and suppression are needed to counter threats to safety or national security, as well as to avoid the subversion of politics and the corruption of morals. …"

The organization believes "ordinary individual, by exercising critical judgment, will select the good and reject the bad." Each year it sponsors "Banned Books Week" to highlight attempts by Americans to challenge the inclusion of controversial books in school and neighborhood libraries.

The AFA stated last week that the most challenged book across the nation in 2005 was "It's Perfectly Normal," by Robie H. Harris, which is designed for children from the third to sixth grade and includes drawings of people having sex, a woman examining her genitals with a mirror and a teenage boy masturbating.

Last year, parents in Fayetteville, Ark., waged a protest against "It's Perfectly Normal." The school board initially removed the book and several others deemed objectionable to a parents-only section of the school library, but later returned them to the general circulation area.

Dixie Echoes Garner Five Singing News Fan Award Top 10 Nominations

Thanks to the readers of the Singing News magazine for nominating the members of the Dixie Echoes for several Fan Awards!

Horizon Individual:
Dallas Rogers
Tracy Crouch

Pianist:
Stewart Varnado

Musician:
Randy "Scoot" Shelnut, Jr.

Band:
Dixie Echoes Band

Here's the entire list of Top 10 Nominees:


BOONE, NC(Singing News) - The results are in! Singing News is pleased to announce the Top Ten Nominees for the 2006 Singing News Fan Awards. After tabulating the results of the nominations ballot, which appeared in the subscribers' copy of the March issue of Singing News, the Top Ten Nominees are...

Male Singer
Bennett, Eric - Triumphant Quartet
Bishop, Mark - soloist
Bowling, Mike - Mike Bowling Group
Crabb, Jason - Crabb Family
Fowler, Scott - Legacy Five
Free, Brian - Brian Free & Assurance
Haase, Ernie - Signature Sound
Parker, Ivan - soloist
Rice, Arthur - Kingdom Heirs
Wolfe, Gerald - Gerald Wolfe

Favorite Female Singer
Bean, Peg McKamey - McKameys
Bowling, Kelly - Crabb Family
Easter, Sheri - Jeff & Sheri Easter
Gooch, Karen Peck - Karen Peck & New River
Hopper, Connie - Hoppers
Hopper, Kim - Hoppers
Stuffle, Libbi Perry - Perrys
Talley, Debra - Talley Trio
Talley, Lauren - Talley Trio
Whisnant, Susan - Whisnants

Young Artist
Crabb, Aaron - Crabb Family
Fortner, Eli - McKameys
Inman, Scott - Triumphant Quartet
Habedank, Joseph - Perrys
Hise, Aaron - Whisnants
Phillips, Eric - Mark Trammell Trio
Selph, Derrick - Brian Free & Assurance
Talley, Lauren - Talley Trio
Thompson, Amber - Nelons
Waldroup, Jason - Greater Vision

Horizon Individual
Brown, Michaela - Browns
Crouch, Tracy - Dixie Echoes
Hampton, Wes - Gaither Vocal Band
Holt, Matthew - Perrys
Huggins, Victoria - Soloist
Jeffrey, Lance - Dove Brothers
Rogers, Dallas - Dixie Echoes
Schweinsberg, Micah - Crabb Family
Simpson, Josh - Gold City
Singletary, Josh - Monument Quartet

Horizon Group
Beloved
Browns
Crystal River
Eighth Day
First Love
Hope's Call
LeFevre Quartet
Monument Quartet
Soul'd Out Quartet
Skyline Boys

Tenor
Free, Brian - Brian Free & Assurance
Haase, Ernie - Signature Sound Quartet
Hodges, Billy - Kingdom Heirs
Ladd, Steve - Gold City
Phillips, Eric - Mark Trammell Trio
Rulapaugh, John - Palmetto State Quartet
Seamans, Frank - Legacy Five
Sutton, David - Triumphant Quartet
Waldroup, Jason - Greater Vision
Watkins, Archie - Inspirations

Lead
Crabb, Jason - Crabb Family
Dibler, Matt - Inspirations
Fowler, Scott - Legacy Five
Harris, Loren - Perrys
Inman, Clayton - Triumphant Quartet
Rice, Arthur - Kingdom Heirs
Seaton, Ryan - Signature Sound
Shivers, Bill - Brian Free & Assurance
Wilburn, Jonathan - Gold City
Wolfe, Gerald - Greater Vision

Baritone
Anderson, Doug - Signature Sound
Campbell, Melton - Inspirations
French, Steve - Kingdom Heirs
Griffin, Rodney - Greater Vision
Habedank, Joseph - Perrys
Howard, Scott - Legacy Five
Inman, Scott - Triumphant Quartet
Riley, Daniel - Gold City
Selph, Derrick - Brian Free & Assurance
Trammell, Mark - Mark Trammell Trio

Bass
Bennett, Eric - Triumphant Quartet
Chapman, Jeff - Kingdom Heirs
Duncan, Tim - Signature Sound
Dustin, Glenn - Legacy Five
Holcomb, Mike - Inspirations
McDonald Gene - Florida Boys
O'Neal, Ed - Dixie Melody Boys
Plott, Keith - Brian Free & Assurance
Reese, Ray Dean - Kingsmen
Stuffle, Tracy - Perrys

Alto
Easter, Sheri - Jeff & Sheri Easter
Hopper, Connie - Hoppers
Hoskins, Reva - Hoskins Family
Lord, Kim - LordSong
McRae, Kelly - McRaes
Penhollow, Terah Crabb - Crabb Family
Stuffle, Libbi - Perrys
Talley, Debra - Talley Trio
Whisnant, Susan - Whisnants
Woodard, Carol - McKameys

Soprano
Aldridge, Angie Hoskins - Hoskins Family
Balltzglier, Amber Franks - LordSong
Bowling, Kelly - Crabb Family
Fortner, Connie - McKameys
Gooch, Karen Peck - Karen Peck & New River
Greene, TaRanda - Greenes
Hopper, Kim - Hoppers
McRae, Annie - McRaes
Ritchie, Charlotte - Jeff & Sheri Easter
Talley, Lauren - Talley Trio

Soloist
Bishop, Mark
Bowling, Mike
Combs, Michael
Gore, Tony
Lanier, John
Lee, Cricket
Miller, Randy
Parker, Ivan
Rambo, Dottie
Sheppard, Garry

Trio
Booth Brothers
Greater Vision
GreenesJeff & Sheri Easter
Karen Peck & New River
LordSong
Mark Trammell Trio
Ricky Atkinson & Compassion
Talley Trio
Whisnants

Mixed Quartet
Collingsworth Family
Crabb Family
Freemans
Hayes Family
Hoppers
Hoskins Family
Isaacs
Jody Brown Indian Family
McKameys
Perrys

Traditional Quartet
Brian Free & Assurance
Dove Brothers
Gold City
Inspirations
Kingdom Heirs
Kingsmen
Legacy Five
Palmetto State Quartet
Signature Sound Quartet
Triumphant Quartet

Pianist
Bennett, Roger - Legacy Five
Cook, Martin - Inspirations
Ellis, Justin - Crabb Family
Harmon, Adam - Kingdom Heirs
Holt, Matthew - Perrys
Ishee, Andrew - Palmetto State Quartet
McDowell, Scott - Brian Free & Assurance
Stice, Jeff - Triumphant Quartet
Varnado, Stewart - Dixie Echoes
Webb, Roy - Signature Sound

Musician
Crabb, Adam - Crabb Family
Fortner, Roger - McKameys
Free, Ricky - Brian Free & Assurance
French, Kreis - Kingdom Heirs
Hopper, Mike - Hoppers
Isaacs, Sonya - Isaacs
Murphy, Dennis - Kingdom Heirs
Pfeifer, John - Pfeifers
Shelnut Jr, Randy - Dixie Echoes
Surrett, Tim - Soloist

Band
Brian Free & Assurance
Crabb Family
Dixie Echoes
Isaacs
Hoppers
Inspirations
Kingdom Heirs
Kingsmen
LeFevre Quartet
Primitive Quartet

Album
From the Smokies - Inspirations
It's So God - Brian Free & Assurance
Live at Brooklyn Tabernacle - Crabb Family
My Favorite Place - Greater Vision
New Day Dawning - Whisnants
Remembering Kenny Hinson - Mike Bowling
Remembering the Happy Goodmans - Perrys
Signature Sound - Signature Sound
This Time - Mark Trammell Trio
Triumphant Quartet - Triumphant Quartet

Songwriter
Bennett, Roger
Bishop, Mark
Bowling, Mike
Crabb, Aaron
Crabb, Gerald
Gaither, Bill
Griffin, Rodney
Inman, Scott
Parsons, Squire
Rowland, Kyla

Favorite Artist Website
Brian Free & Assurance
Crabb Family
Gold City
Greater Vision
Inspirations
Kingdom Heirs
Legacy Five
Perrys
Signature Sound
Triumphant Quartet

Favorite DJ, Small Market
Berry, Ford - WDCY, Douglasville, GA
Carlile, Rob - WZCT, Scottsboro, AL
Garner, Scott - WGMI, Bremen, GA
Hefner, Jim - WAVU, Albertville, AL
Hyde, Beecher - WAVU, Albertville, AL
Pounders, Bill - WLRD, Sandusky, OH
Tittle, Phil - KPAE, Port Allen, LA
Vines, Robert - WROM, Rome, GA
Wishon, Jon, WWWC - Wilkesboro, NC
Whisnant, John - WCIS, Morganton, NC

Favorite DJ, Medium Market
Britt, Noah - WOSM, Ocean Springs, MS
Bruce, Rich - WTRM, Winchester, VA
Davis, Carol - WFGW, Black Mountain, NC
Edgil, Jerry - WBTG, Sheffield, AL
Ford, Carl - WRNA, Kannapolis, NC
O'Day, Danny - WCON, Cornelia, GA
Park, Bruce - KAOW, Fort Smith, AR
Richardson, Gary - WJCR, Upton, KY
Roberts, Bill - WLWI, Montgomery, AL
Snavely, Jim - WBTX, Broadway, VA

Favorite DJ, Large Market
Baucom, Rodney - WXRI, Winston-Salem, NC
Davis, Jack - KKGM, Dallas, TX
Foster, Ron - WZZK, Birmingham, AL
Goodman, Greg - WVRY, Nashville, TN
Guinn, Tim - WJBZ, Knoxville, TN
Hicks, Ken - WUSY, Chattanooga, TN
Sanders, Don - WKSJ, Mobile, AL
Taylor, Wanda - WXRI, Winston-Salem, NC
Wallace, Wayne - WXJC, Birmingham, AL
Wells, John - WCGW, Lexington, KY

Favorite Southern Gospel Song
Do You Want To Be Forgiven - Signature Sound
Don't Let The Sandals Fool Ya - Triumphant Quartet
He Saw It All- Booth Brothers
Healed - Brian Free & Assurance
His Name Was John - Perrys
I'm Not Ashamed - Inspirations
New Day Dawning - Whisnants
Out Of My Darkness - Legacy Five
Paid In Full Through Jesus, Amen - Greater Vision
Shepherd's Call - Crabb Family

***The Top 10 Songs will NOT be included on the Top 10 ballot that will appear in the May issue of Singing News. These ten songs will be voted on when the Top 5 ballot appears in the July issue.

Questions without Answers

1. Why do we press harder on the remote control buttons when we know the batteries are getting weak?

2. Why doesn't glue stick to the bottle?

3. Why doesn't Tarzan have a beard?

4. Why did Kamikaze pilots wear helmets?

5. Whose idea was it to put an "s" in the word "lisp?"

6. If we evolved from apes, why are there still apes?

7. Is there ever a day where mattresses are not on sale?

8. Why do they use sterilized needles for death by lethal injection?

9. How do those dead bugs get into those enclosed light fixtures?

10. How come you never hear father-in-law jokes?

Priceless....I'm still laughing!!!

This was just too funny to not share with everyone. Hope it makes you laugh!!

No Pain, No Gain

All discipline for the moment seems not to be joyful, but sorrowful; yet to those who have trained by it, afterwards it yields the peaceful fruit of righteousness.

Hebrews 12:11

Have you seen the advertisement of the young man with the washboard stomach, with glistening muscles rippling as he pumps his exercise machine-and its haunting reminder: "No pain, no gain"?

The same is true spiritually speaking isn't it? Of course we want the faith of Moses, but we'd rather avoid the 40-year visit to the wilderness where God made him strong in faith through humility.

We want David's heart for God, but we don't want blisters from shoveling smelly sheep manure. We want the glory of the spotlight, the prestige of the position, but we are reluctant to pay the price of preparation.

And who wouldn't want to have the spiritual impact of Paul? He shaped the first-century church. He journeyed to other countries, preached to massive crowds, entrusted his life to men like Timothy-we're talking gain, real gain.

But we're also talking pain-major league pain. Paul did time in prison. He was beaten near death "many times"-five times the Jews gave him 39 lashes. He was stoned and beaten with rods. He spent a night and a day in the sea. Often he was without food, water and clothing (see 2 Cor. 11:23-27). No discipline, no growth. No pain, no gain.

In spiritual terms, your stomach is the residence where courage resides. Courage makes tough decisions-hard choices. It is said of a courageous person, "He has guts." But our society is flabby at the waistline. We don't want to go against the flow; we want comfort.

Paul promised that God has the power to give us guts: to endure pain for spiritual gain. Paul wrote to Timothy, "God did not give us a spirit of timidity, but a spirit of power, of love and of self-discipline" (2 Tim. 1:7, NIV).

Do you really want the gain?

Excerpted from "Moments Together for Couples" by Dennis and Barbara Rainey.Used with permission. Copyright 1995 by Dennis and Barbara Rainey. Allrights reserved. To purchase the book, visit ->http://www.familylife.com/1-800-358-6329/detail.asp?id=1170

God's Total Surrender To Us

Taken from My Utmost for His Highest by Oswald Chambers

"For God so loved the world that He gave..." (John 3:16)

Salvation does not mean merely deliverance from sin or the experience of personal holiness. The salvation which comes from God means being completely delivered from myself, and being placed into perfect union with Him. When I think of my salvation experience, I think of being delivered from sin and gaining personal holiness. But salvation is so much more! It means that the Spirit of God has brought me into intimate contact with the true Person of God Himself. And as I am caught up into total surrender to God, I become thrilled with something infinitely greater than myself.

To say that we are called to preach holiness or sanctification is to miss the main point. We are called to proclaim Jesus Christ (see 1 Corinthians 2:2). The fact that He saves from sin and makes us holy is actually part of the effect of His wonderful and total surrender to us.

If we are truly surrendered, we will never be aware of our own efforts to remain surrendered. Our entire life will be consumed with the One to whom we surrender. Beware of talking about surrender if you know nothing about it. In fact, you will never know anything about it until you understand that John 3:16 means that God completely and absolutely gave Himself to us. In our surrender, we must give ourselves to God in the same way He gave Himself to us--totally, unconditionally, and without reservation. The consequences and circumstances resulting from our surrender will never even enter our mind, because our life will be totally consumed with Him.

Darwin smacked in new US poll

Whopping 69 percent of Americans want alternate theories in classroom

Taken from WorldNetDaily.com

Posted: March 7, 20065:00 p.m. Eastern
© 2006 WorldNetDaily.com

A new poll shows 69 percent of Americans believe public school teachers should present both the evidence for and against Darwinian evolution.

The Zogby International survey indicated only 21 percent think biology teachers should teach only Darwin's theory of evolution and the scientific evidence that supports it.

A majority of Americans from every sub-group were at least twice as likely to prefer this approach to science education, the Zogby study showed.

About 88 percent of Americans 18-29 years old were in support, along with 73 percent of Republicans and 74 percent of independent voters.

Others who strongly support teaching the strengths and weaknesses of evolutionary theory include African-Americans (69 percent), 35-54 year-olds (70 percent) and Democrats (60 percent).

Casey Luskin, program officer for public policy and legal affairs with Discovery Institute's Center for Science and Culture said while his group does not favor mandating the teaching of intelligent design, "we do think it is constitutional for teachers to discuss it precisely because the theory is based upon scientific evidence not religious premises."

The Seattle-based Discovery Institute is the leading promoter of the theory of Intelligent Design, which has been at the center of challenges in federal court over the teaching of evolution in public school classes. Advocates say it draws on recent discoveries in physics, biochemistry and related disciplines that indicate some features of the natural world are best explained as the product of an intelligent cause rather than an undirected process such as natural selection.

"The public strongly agrees that students should be permitted to learn about such evidence," Luskin said.

The Discovery Institute noted Americans also support students learning about evidence for intelligent design alongside evolution in biology class – 77 percent.

Just over half – 51 percent – agree strongly with that. Only 19 percent disagree.

As WorldNetDaily reported, more than 500 scientists with doctoral degrees have signed a statement expressing skepticism about Darwin's theory of evolution.

The statement, which includes endorsement by members of the prestigious U.S. National Academy of Sciences and Russian Academy of Sciences, was first published by the Discovery Institute in 2001 to challenge statements about Darwinian evolution made in promoting PBS's "Evolution" series.

The PBS promotion claimed "virtually every scientist in the world believes the theory to be true."

Turning Back or Walking With Jesus?

Taken from My Utmost for His Highest by Oswald Chambers

"Do you also want to go away?" (John 6:67).

What a penetrating question! Our Lord's words often hit home for us when He speaks of the simplest way. In spite of the fact that we know who Jesus is, He asks, "Do you also want to go away?" We must continually maintain an adventurous attitude toward Him, despite any potential personal risk.

"From that time many of His disciples went back and walked with Him no more" (6:66). They turned back from walking with Jesus; not into sin, but away from Him. Many people today are pouring out and working for Jesus Christ, but are not really walking with Him. One thing God constantly requires of us is a oneness with Jesus Christ. After being set apart through sanctification, we should discipline our lives spiritually to maintain this intimate oneness. When God gives you a clear determination of His will for you, all your striving to maintain that relationship by some particular method is completely unnecessary. All that is required is to live a natural life of absolute dependence on Jesus Christ. Never try to live your life with God in any other way than His way. And His way means absolute devotion to Him. Showing no concern for the uncertainties that lie ahead is the secret of walking with Jesus.

Peter saw in Jesus only someone who could minister salvation to him and to the world. But our Lord wants us to be fellow laborers with Him.

In verse 70 Jesus lovingly reminded Peter that he was chosen to go with Him. And each of us must answer this question for ourselves and no one else: "Do you also want to go away?"

More pics of Matthew and Sarah!!

Until I have kids of my own (which for some reason my future mother-in-law thinks will happen quickly) you'll just have to adore my niece and nephew!!

Marijuana bust in Tennessee...very elaborate!!

Those of you who know me, know of my interest in law enforcement. If I wouldn't be singing I'd be working as a police officer somewhere. I have many friends in the law enforcement community and they often send me emails documenting strange, funny, and unbelievable stories of criminal activity. I normally don't blog about any of them because I don't necessarily feel that this is the place for them. But this one is so amazing as far as the extensiveness this person(s) went to in growing and selling marijuana. Take a look! This is unbelievable!

This is how they grow Marijuana in Tennessee. This grow was underneath a house in a cave. The entrance was through a secret hydraulic door in the garage that led to a concrete ramp that went about 50 yards into the ground. Inside the cave was living quarters and a secret escape hatch that led you through a tunnel that exited via another hydraulic door that opened up a rock on the outside. It was very elaborate. The set up allowed them to harvest every 60 days which resulted in multi-million dollar sales. One of the guys busted was living in a house on the water in FL and had a nice yacht. One of the agents in Nashville worked on this for 5 years before the warrant was finally served in December.

Texas church to rebuild after fire

Texas church to rebuild after fire
Palestine, Texas
Tuesday, March 07, 2006

Taken from NCNNews.com


(The Palestine Herald) Smoke, fire and water damage won’t keep the congregation of Palestine, Texas Church of the Nazarene from worshipping.

The church was substantially burned in an early morning fire Wednesday, March 1. Representatives from the state fire marshal’s office have indicated “accelerants were used” in the blaze and authorities are saying it could be the work of an arsonist.

The church’s pastor, Charlie Cox, reported to Dallas District Superintendent Rob McDonald that the fire was caused by someone breaking the exterior window in Cox's office and throwing an incendiary device into the building.

The fire was one of three to be reported to Palestine sheriff’s authorities between 1:25 a.m. and 2:49 a.m. March 1.

The church held Sunday School and Morning Worship March 5 at a neighboring church in Palestine.

Most of the church was heavily damaged or destroyed — including the foyer, restrooms, library, nursery, pastor’s study, and the church parlor. The sanctuary sustained heavy smoke damage.

“Not only did we lose all of these rooms, we completely lost all our books including all of our history — handwritten notes from our church historian that are irreplaceable,” Cox said. “And this happened ironically on Ash Wednesday.

”Church members had expected the church to be considered a loss, but were informed by the insurance adjusters that it would be reconstructed.

“We have to do what we have to do,” Cox said. “We know now that we were probably under insured.”

Plans are currently under way for a new roof, new ceiling joists, replacing internal walls, replacing pew cushions, carpeting, and removing the stains and smoke smell out of the sanctuary.

“We are going to have to fix it up,” Cox said. “We don’t really have any other options but to reconstruct.

“We just say ‘Lord teach us from this.’ He has a new plan for us and we say ‘teach us Lord.’ We want to glorify Him,” Cox continued.

The Palestine Church of the Nazarene was built in 1973. The first Church of Nazarene was started in Palestine in 1956 and moved to a few locations before the new church was built in 1973.

The church has approximately 42 members with 30 attending on a regular basis. Cox and his wife Bonnie have served the church since November 2004.

“For people who have been here for a large part of their life, this is very difficult,” Cox said. “But the church isn’t just a building, the church is the people. The Lord is making us stronger, more determined in purpose and teaching us to be obedient in him.

“Good will come out of this — beauty from ashes as Isaiah 61:3-4 reads,” Bonnie Cox said. “We are praying not that more people will attend eventually, but that the people out there searching will know that there is an answer and there is hope.”

On the night after the fire, the congregation gathered at the parsonage for prayer.

“We prayed specifically for the salvation of the person or persons who did this,” Cox said.

Member Robert Wells has been attending the church since 1979.

“It’s like losing someone in your family,” Wells said of the fire.

Church treasurer Ray Lively has been a Nazarene since attending high school in Palestine in the 1950s. His parents were among the first members of the Palestine Church of the Nazarene at the older locations.

“It’s sickening,” he said of the fire. “It’s as if you burned your house. This has been my church home since I came back to Palestine in 1974.

“I’m looking forward to getting the church back together like it was.”

District Superintendent McDonald is asking for Nazarenes to “please be in prayer for the Palestine Church and pastor during this time.” --Palestine Herald, NCN News (Palestine Herald photo)

I've Been Thinking About This Myself...

My good friend LB is looking for the lyrics to a couple of songs that we now sing regularly in our program. I've been meaning to put these lyrics on my blog, but just never have gotten around to it. These two songs have been getting the greatest response lately in our concerts. I think its because of the common theme that they both posses; that irreplaceable longing for our real home...Heaven! All of us have loved ones already gone on that we miss beyond words. But we know that we will get to see them again someday, and beyond that we will get to finally behold our Lord and Savior face to face! And death is something that Christian and non-Christian alike can both relate to. It's something that all of us have an appointment with. But as Christians we should have NO fear of death because Jesus has conquered death and we have this eternal hope within us. I absolutely love both of these songs and although we don't sing all of the verses of each song I'm going to put them all down. I hope you take time to read these lyrics and just let them sink in and let them paint a picture in your mind of that grand reunion on the other shore!!

If We Never Meet Again
Albert E. Brumley

Soon we'll come to the end of life's journey,
And perhaps we'll never meet anymore,
Till we gather in Heaven's bright city
Far away on that beautiful shore.

O so often we're parted with sorrow,
Benedictions often quicken our pain;
But we never shall sorrow in Heaven,
God be with you till we meet again.

O they say we shall meet by the river
Where no storm-clouds ever darken the sky,
And they say we'll be happy in Heaven,
In the wonderful sweet by and by.

If we never meet again this side of Heaven
As we struggle through this world and its strife,
There's another meeting place somewhere in Heaven
By the side of the river of life;
Where the charming roses bloom forever,
And where separations come no more;
If we never meet again this side of Heaven,
I will meet you on that beautiful shore.


I Won't Have To Worry(Any More)
James Goss & Jimmy Jones

Down here the burden's heavy,
and the road is rough and long,
Sometimes our feet get weary and so sore;
But a brighter day is coming,
soon I'll step on heaven's shore,
And I won't have to worry anymore.

Some day when life is over,
and I've said my last good-bye,
I'll see my Savior standing at the door;
Then I'll hear Him say, "You're welcome!
All your cares are left behind,"
And I won't have to worry anymore.

I won't have worry
when I reach the other shore,
All my troubles will be over,
And I'll rest forever more;
My eyes will be on Jesus,
And my heart will be aglow,
And I won't have to worry anymore.

Odds and Ends

Ya know I feel blessed to have many of the friends I have in my life. One of the things I miss most about being in college, or just being around the university campus, was all the friends that I had there. All concentrated in one place. Some of my best memories were the times we were just sitting around bouncing ideas off of each other. Looking back, I'm sure some of the things we said, or ideas we had, now sound a little immature, old fashioned, and maybe we just totally missed the mark! But as life runs its course, if you're paying attention, you will learn more, grow more, until you start to reach the point where you've experienced enough of life that you have something worth while to say. And now, you say these things not necessarily out of speculation and wonder, but from a more experienced life, an "I've been there, got the t-shirt" perspective. And as a Christian hopefully your walk with Christ has deepened and become stronger. The longer you walk this Christian walk and the more you draw closer to God, the more He will permeate your life in EVERY aspect.(of course you must let Him). As this happens you begin to really see God at work everywhere around you, you begin to see with...spiritual eyes!

One of the great things about a blog is that you get to read the thoughts of someone. Some of the words are worth sharing and repeating, and a quick drive around the "blogosphere" you'll realize that there are a lot of them that are better off being deleted! I'm glad that I have made friends through life that have grown with the Lord and now have lived enough life that they have something to say(not that they didn't before!! ;-) ). One of my good friends that I grew up with through church activities and went to college with is now a youth pastor in Tulsa, Oklahoma. He doesn't always have much to say, but when he does, I really like it! Maybe its easy for me to read his stuff because I know him and his personality, but I think I really like it because he keeps it simple and always seems to bring out a point that I never saw coming. He doesn't update is blog real often(maybe we can get him to work on that!!). But it is becoming more frequent and I like what he had to say today. It's been fun watching his life change and I believe that God has great things in store for Mark and his wife Sheree'. Today's entry really isn't anything special or monumental but I like the simplicity and gentle reminders that are given that even if you don't think someone is watching, God is, and you just never know who might hear what you had to say. Take a look, I think you'll like it!

Odds and Ends

Anthony Burger funeral to be webcast live...

If you were unable to attend Anthony's funeral in person you can view it live via the web courtesy of Christ Church in Nashville. You will need to register to be able to view it, but all you are required to give is your name and email. The funeral is scheduled to start at 1 pm CST. www.christchurchnashville.com/intro.htm Scroll to the bottom right side and you'll see the link for Anthony Burger's funeral.

Does This Mean I'm An "Official" Blog??

I was checking out my site stats, looking to see where my referrers are coming from. I noticed that I had recieved a couple of hits from sgblognews.com. This kind of a "blog headquarters" with links to blogs of people in the sg music industry. So I guess if folks are going to be checking this site out on a regular basis I'm going to have to come up with some good writing! Maybe I'll just get some composition major from UWF so that it sounds like I have great writing skills! hehe!! Anyway, I welcome all of you "new viewers" to my little corner of cyber space!!