It did feel very odd not preaching Sunday morning. I went back to look and I haven't missed a Sunday in over 2 years. Many thanks to Mark for filling in for me. I am sure it was a good experience for everyone. The trip to Fort Worth was good for the family. Emily and I caught the ballgame Sunday night. We got some time to visit with family. It all went well until Monday when I discovered the presence of the stomach bug in MY tummy! I will spare you the gory details but I am sure glad those things only last about 24 hours.

The summer is shaping up to be a good one here. There is no slowing down of the schedule for a few weeks. There is VBS, Camp, Mission Trip and other fun stuff already marked on the calendar. I am old enough to know many use this time for vacations. Please join us when you can during this time off from school. God doesn't take time off. Use every day to its fullest to replenish your spiritual as well as your physical life.

Summer is always a time for me to pray about a special summer series of studies. The last two summers we looked at Galatians and I John. As of this blogging, the divine direction seems to be leading to Revelation! With all that is going on in our world, it seems as if this may be the best place to find answers for these tumultuous times. Do not expect the usual approach with charts or mathematical formulas if this is indeed the path we take. We need more than sensational speculation. We need real hope for today. This is what Revelation is more than anything else. This book tells us that our God is not out of control no matter the news from Iraq or the price of oil/gas. Invite friends to share in this journey. I look forward to seeing you Sunday. I truly missed being here.
Bro. Trey

Writing can be therapeutic for me. I can't say whether or not my writing is very good to read but it is good for me to do. It is a spiritual discipline for me. Prayer, study, reflection all end up making more sense when it is written out for me to read. There are more than a few journals or books that are marked up with impressions of mine. So for the time being, I will use this blog to unveil a bit of my inner self.
School ends tomorrow. Actually, there has not been much school for awhile but the official ending is tomorrow. This means summer is officially here. It also means my little girl is finishing the 7th grade. It dawns on me that this bugs me a bit more than the whole aging thing. I don't mind getting older but do my children have to do the same? While praying on this matter I come to one conclusion. Relationships matter. I already said this once on the blog but it is eternally true. Tonight we did our business meeting for the month. I thank God that now it is filled with humor along with the genuine caring in our prayer time. Why is this? It is because of the relationships among us. In many ways I am only as good as the quality of the relationships around me. I've said for a long time that as long as my children hug me and come home at night that I am successful no matter what. The same is true with church. We are as good as the relationships around us. We begin this whole journey with a relationships with God in Jesus. We make strides as that relationship overflows into the others we have.
The last thing for me to do tonight is to make sure my son and daughter are safe asleep. The biggest thing I do daily is to pray intensely for those who make up our church. We may get older but we have the gift of relationship to hold us together. Thank you for being you. I honestly hope someday we can all see this great gift we have from God Himself.
Bro. Trey

I am not often surprised by much. Part of that is age and part of it is due to the inherent nature of my job. I see a lot of things on a regular basis that most people cannot even imagine. At nearly 45 years of age there just isn't a great deal that catches me off guard. Having said that, I was honestly surprised Sunday night. Here I was all thrilled so many were showing up for the G.A.'s who fed us a wonderful meal and a party breaks out! I just have to say thank you for all the deeply meaningful cards...I just need to figure out what they mean! As someone said, "take them in a good humor." I did take them as welcomed acknowledgements of this occasion. My son assisted me in opening each one. He is partial to the one with the giant monkey on it. I genuinely want to say thank you for the cake, cards, and the wonderful surprise. This church means so much to me that I often don't take the time to express. Even with the ups and downs of nearly 6 years, we are truly becoming what our Lord wishes. Thank you for all you do for one another. Thank you for being there when others are going through difficult times. As I look toward the 16th anniversary of my 29th birthday I am thankful to be here with you.

Bro. Trey

I am reminded again of how life doesn't always turn out the way you plan it. One of the things about this job of mine is how often I deal with people for whom life went left when they expected it to turn right or vice versa. This is one of the hazards of being involved with caring for people who face real life or death trauma. In fact, I have to admit that it happens often enough that I am not sure how to respond when such things occur in my world.

Today I spent most of the afternoon in the Emergency Room with my youngest. His regular doctor was out of the office for personal reasons. Her substitute suggested we go there for both tests and faster results. I am proud of him for how he held up with the nurse drawing blood. There were a few false starts but he came through in the end. One of the reasons we went was to look for any signs of leukemia. Thankfully, all the tests indicate a healthy ten year old boy. I wish I could say the same for his father.

Perhaps it will hit me later tonight. Perhaps it will hit me sometime tomorrow. I am sure it will hit me though. It's that emotion or awareness that most of us face in the dark hours of life. Some people know how to utilize those moments for a greater growth. Sadly, I see far too many flail away at the darkness with no benefit. We are given this gift of life to use as we decide. Either we become convinced to use it in a relationship with God or we try to hold on to it as if it was ours alone. Days like today remind me that the only way to hold to what is valuable is to let it go to God. When we choose to let life go to God then we discover there is no darkness because He is our constant source of light. I pray God allows you to make that discovery in your world regardless of life's situation.
Bro. Trey

Relationships matter. This life is made up of the relationships we have. I don't think there is an area of life where we are not the product of the people we let into our world. For some people, those encounters are not always healthy. Most of the troubles people discuss with me are directly related to the quality of some relationship. If we are depressed, chances are it's due to some failures with or by others. If we are encouraged, chances are it's due to the success of those relationships. These things are important even to those of us who are introverted or shy.
Never take this for granted. Life is far too short to squander with the toxic effects of people who bring us down. Scripture knows the value of relationships. Both Old and New Testaments tell us about how to value others as well as ourself. Even Jesus knew the need to spend time with friends. We often find him with his inner circle along with attending parties filled with joy.
I confess this is a major weakness in my personality. The older I get, the more it seems to be an issue for others as well. We need friends in our world. We need people who are a positive part of becoming who God wishes us to be. We also need to learn how to nurture those relationships without losing them. Part of being church lies in the simple truth of learning how to be friends with those around us. Here is to hoping we all get and keep those people who moves us to healthy Christian living. It is my best prayer for you.
Bro. Trey

I've just completed putting down the Sunday morning information on The Davinci Code on paper. If anyone is interested, just call the church office for copies. Much of what I am doing comes from some very good material that can be purchased in most any good bookstore. This will still be a condensed version of what these fine writers say. Perhaps some of this will nudge us into better thinking and believing.
Also, don't forget Mother's Day is coming up fast. If you are going to be in town this weekend, please bring your family to join with us in worship. This is a busy month for many of us. I pray you will continue being faithful in worship.
Bro. Trey

Yesterday I tackled the topic of The Davinci Code majoring on the historical aspects of the novel. I tried to tie it into the biblical understanding of faith as described in Hebrews 11. I'm not sure how successful I was but as a leader, I felt the need to say somethings about life and faith. My intention is to do this a few more Sundays at least til May 21. I am in the process of putting yesterday's material into written form. Hopefully this will be finished by tomorrow (Tuesday). IF you wish to have this for your own study, feel free to call the office. I hope to put more resources down as I go along. Hang in here with me while I try to make this relevant and practical. Thanks for being a great church.
Bro. Trey

It was said many times and in many ways today in the services. A big thank you to so many people over the last few weeks for going above and beyond the call of duty. I feel so proud of being part of this fellowship when I see us doing the things that truly help others. We have provided food and ministry to those in grief. Today we had a wonderful celebration of senior adults with a terrific lunch afterward. Even this evening we were busy with various planning meetings for the summer. As I said, I just want us to keep watch over our heart so that we don't let the busyness get the best of us spiritually. I am praying for even better things to come. Thank you to everyone for being part of where we are now.
Bro. Trey