Well, with the exception of a small bit of talking during time with family at the recent Thanksgiving celebration, I have not spoken since I saw my doctor on November 5th.  We have been praying and asking you to join us in the effort and so today we began our December schedule.  I had the privilege of filling in for our Worship Pastor today.  I do that a few times a year as he goes to conferences, retreats, or family vacations.

As I write this I can tell you that God gave me exactly what I needed to lead the services and I am so grateful.  Right now, I don’t have much of a voice.  I’m trying not to be too frustrated but it is difficult.  This afternoon Patty made two calls for me and canceled my next 2 events.  I am thankful for the kindness of those individuals leading for I know this puts them in a very difficult place.

This week I will be trying to get back into the Ear, Nose, and Throat physician and see if the months worth of silence has gotten rid of the nodule development.  We are hoping that to be the case and that the hoarseness I’m experiencing tonight is simply because of the workload this morning ( 45 min rehearsal and 2 morning worship services) after not having spoken in a month or if there’s other issues.  Appreciate your prayers.

In the meantime, we are still balancing family with ministry.  Prayers there too, please!

Hope you have a blessed Christmas season!
John

Am I guilty, at times, of not being thankful?  Yep.  It saddens me and frustrates me to no end.  Having to take this month off FROM TALKING has caused a frustration and even the occasional pity party but I am so thankful that He is in control through it all.  I know that I am blessed beyond measure and far more than I deserve.  I do know that regardless of where this voice stuff leads, I am still willing to be a useful vessel and because of that He will use me.  So, let’s just see where this goes.

With this month at home I have been able to concentrate on the ministry ahead.  There will be 3 different Senior Adult Christmas Banquets along with a couple of kid’s events so the first 2 weeks of December will require a lot and because of this time off there has been the obvious rest but also a time to plan.  I’m thankful.  I’ve had the month to practice my horn every day…another “luxury” that life on the road doesn’t offer.  I’m thankful.  I’ve been able do a great amount of work on my 2014 1st Quarter Newsletter that has to be turned in around the first week of December and I’ve done my December E Letter that will go out right after Thanksgiving.  I’m thankful.  Are all these things “small” in the grand scheme of things?  Simply put, yep.  But right now, when one is called to life on the road and can’t do it then there are frustrations, naturally, that seep in, and it becomes easy to lose overall focus on God and what He may be doing.

The prayer we have is that we will finish this years ministry as strong as possible, not so much physically but with the heart that He desires and one that glorifies Him.

The parents are doing well and are looking forward to the family gathering during the Thanksgiving holiday.  As always, we appreciate your prayers as we keep our eyes on Him…”the author and perfecter of our faith”.

Blessings,
John

It’s been a week now that I’ve giving the world the silent treatment.  I have to admit, it’s been frustrating, there’s no other word to describe everything.  Texting everything seems to be the way to go for me right now with our communication at home.  One thing that has me a bit concerned is, as yet, not perfectly clear.  We have received mixed recommendations as to whether practicing my horn is harmful or not.  I’ve not noticed my cords doing anything but letting air pass during my rehearsal but after about 3 days of playing, the pre-exam dull ache I had, came back so I’ve put off a few days of rehearsal.  ARRRRRGGGG!  This is important for I can rest my voice and still be able or should be able to present my programs in December with just a bit of effort.  Without rehearsing my horns, I will not be able to play to the quality I feel I owe the Lord.  Sure would appreciate your prayers for the healing.  Thanks.

Mom and Patty’s dad are doing well and we are so very thankful for that!  You have prayed for them on many occasions and we are so grateful.  The fact that Patty’s dad doesn’t have to face chemo for at least a couple of months if not longer gives us a special thankfulness during this season.

The report from Dallas is that Chris’ lungs seem to be clearing a bit more.  They are taking 2 xrays each day.  While we are so thankful and praise the Lord for this we are reminded how serious this is by the 5 personal medical team that is in the room monitoring him and the equipment functioning for him regularly.  He was given 5 units of blood yesterday.  Drs say this is common for the machine he is on.  Again, his mother, Joann is a first cousin (practically sister as they grew up together) of Patty.  Her husband is Jim.

Blessings,
John

Hi Friends,

I thought I would catch you up on things and let you know how to pray!  First off, the silence around the house is deafening.  I am going the entire month without speaking, as you know.  This is proving quite difficult.  Not talking is difficult in and of itself but there’s also the fact that included in it all is that I am not supposed to clear my throat, or hum or anything like that.  Trying to do that but at the same time prepare for my Christmas programs is very difficult for sure.

Patty is in Yazoo City right now and her dad had his “eye to eye” with his oncologist today.  Things went really well.  He had a treatment but the great news is that the dr wants to suspend further treatment and wants to see him in 2 months.  Praise the Lord!  I know many of you have remembered this in your prayers and we are grateful.

We really need your prayers on behalf of Patty’s cousin (almost sister) that lives in Dallas.  Joann is married and has one son, Chris, who is 17 years old.  He has some kind of virus that has had him in the hospital since this past Saturday and the medical staff, trying different things has been unable to turn this thing around.  One moment things begin looking better and before long it turns.  Today there were as many as 7 different specialists in the room at one time conferring.  God is the great Healer and we pray for His will in all of this.  Patty is ready to fly on out there should the need arise, but right now she is committing to pray until further word.

Thank you again for everything.  Some things in this ministry will require change for the new year but God has all that in His hands!

Blessings,
John

What an interesting life…the life of Faith! For 27 years we have traveled throughout the U.S. and some abroad using the gifts He’s given me.  As most of you are aware, my voice has struggled somewhat since August, following the very busy summer schedule.  When the dust settled, I made an appointment with my ENT (vocal doc) to make sure that my struggles were coming from overuse and not from anything more serious.

After examination today, he said I have the beginning of nodules from that overuse.  God is way ahead of this whole situation as He has been all along.  When we saw the month of November had no bookings we weren’t concerned at all even though we had no idea what was in store.  Turns out it’s vocal rest.  I’m not taking any more bookings this year but do have several banquets the first two weeks of December so I plan on doing as little as possible this month, vocally, and will be ready to go once December gets here!

We appreciate the prayers and look forward to what God has in store!

Blessings,
John

First of all let me say thanks for the prayers. Although my voice is about 80%, at best, right now, God is giving me what I need for each presentation and for that we are so thankful.

We arrived in NW TN on Tuesday evening and moved in the necessary equipment for Wednesday’s activities.  At 1:00 we were in the local elementary school and I had 2 presentations there, first to k-2nd grade then 3rd-5th.  I’m not sure how many kids, not members of the church, were present but the total kids were around 75 or more so it was not unlike stirring up an ant hill at one point as they fed the kids.  Many church members decided to attend Kid’s Night and I’m sure as they were mumbling to themselves hours later, they had to be asking themselves what they were thinking?  Those same members chose to opt out of Youth Night on Thursday.  In fact, things changed from the original program on Thursday.  I was originally told that because of some other conflicting events we would probably just have the youth from Finley Baptist.  I put together a program that would challenge them to live the life God had planned for them and 20 before the service was to begin, the Youth Pastor came in and told me he wanted to give me a heads up.  Apparently his youth actually chose the other events and what we ended with were 19 teens that were neighborhood kids and most had only been a part of Wednesday worship with the youth but had never been in the church sanctuary.  3 had never been to church at all.  He apologized, although it was unnecessary, but wanted to give me a heads up.

Yep, glad he did that for sure.  The would know NONE of the choruses I had lined up and so I went from challenge to a message on God’s love and His gift of salvation.  Well, we had several kids that will be followed up on and for that we are so grateful.

Tonight we had the Fall Festival at Enon Baptist Church.  They were so excited to see the record number in attendance.  96 people, young and old, came to my presentation and the meal that followed.  I think we managed to build a little extra excitement for the upcoming revival services that begin tomorrow.  Please be in prayer for my voice as I continue doing the work!

Blessings,
John

Hi friends.  I wanted to give you a heads up on our road trip.  We are pulling out on Tuesday morning and heading to northwest TN, Dyersburg to be exact.  We need your prayers, friends, as the schedule is pretty demanding and those of you checking in on us regularly know of my voice situation.

Things will kick off in Finley, TN, a community just out of Dyersburg on Wednesday when we make a special appearance at one of the elementary schools to give a little teaser performance before having the big Kid’s Night at Finley Baptist Church.  On Thursday night we will have Student Night with all the youth of the area.  I will have the entire program on both nights.

We will layover a couple of days before setting up at Enon Baptist Church outside of Halls, TN, for their annual Fall Festival Saturday night.  Beginning that Sunday morning, I will be leading the music and also preaching the revival services that will go through Tuesday night.  On Tuesday, during the day, I will be speaking at the BCM (formerly BSU) at Dyersburg State Community College for lunch.  Looking forward to that opportunity.

We will remain in the area another few days and finish up our road trip north of Dyersburg.  Fairview Baptist Church in Newbern, TN, where I will be leading a Kid’s Night on Saturday and leading the a.m. service on Sunday morning.  Following that service we will drive home.

As you can see this road trip consists of 9 individual presentations within 12 days so your prayers for my voice and strength would be greatly appreciated.  I will be trying to keep you up on things but we will not have any internet access until Saturday.  I’ll try and get you updated at that time.

Blessings,
John

Ha ha ha.  Yes, I will explain the title of this post.  Recently, I received a comment on one of my post.  The individual literally unloaded on me calling me everything in the book, minus profanity, which I am extremely grateful.  He told me how selfish, self centered, and egotistical I am for talking about myself so much.  While I realize most blogs cover a particular subject of the writers desire or the current hot topic of the day, the reason for this blog (as attached to my website) is to inform those praying for us as to exactly what is occurring in our lives and ministry at the current time.  So there………whoever you are……….IT IS ABOUT ME!!!   Ha ha ha

Enough of that!  For you partners in ministry, I wanted to wait until Mr. Shurley’s appointment today to give you as much updated information as possible.  He has been tolerating the new chemo drug really well.  Originally set up in a two day, two hour each, treatment followed by a month off, then repeated, things have been adjusted to better help him handle the application.  Now things are done in a one day, 1 1/2 infusion, once a month.  Being a type 2 diabetic, he keeps an eye on his sugar that jumps the first few days and makes adjustments by insulin injection.  After a couple of days, things settle back down.  Last week he went to his heart doctor for a check up and got a good report.  Today he went to his kidney doctor and got the “see you in 6 months” report and for that we say Thank You Lord!  So, we appreciate your prayers in that area.

The vocal issues are still a bit of concern.  There is no pain with the chords, just not a lot of strength.  When I finish a service, I am somewhat hoarse but seem to recover before the next service, kinda.  My ENT reminded me that the vocal chords are like any other muscle in our bodies and as we get older there has to be more rest and less stress.  The problem lies in the fact that I feel every call is a divine appointment and I can’t see that ever changing.  As we close out the upcoming month’s schedule, we have a 10 day trip that will have us in 3 churches, 1 elementary school, 1 Jr. College campus, and a fall festival.  We would be grateful for your prayers on behalf of my voice.

Well, enough about us.  Take care and stay in touch,
John

It’s been a good visit with mom and Patty’s dad as we came in a few days early to do the necessary chores around the houses and keep things up for them.  Patty took her dad to his chemo treatment yesterday and his blood test done prior to administration of the drug turned out good so everything went as well as we hoped.

We will head out today for Goss Baptist Church, just north of Columbia, MS, where will set up for services tomorrow.  It’s a family emphasis, so it will be a fun day for sure!

We sure appreciate your prayers as we continue the work.

John

Well, there are lots of things going on right now.  Can’t divulge some things but we ask that you pray for clarity in direction as we seek His leadership in every avenue.

We are taking a couple of weeks off.  Patty has been given a wonderful opportunity.  Her life long friend’s youngest son is getting married.  She lives outside Philadelphia, PA, and for years Patty has been wanting to go for a visit.  Well, Patty’s friend asked if she might be able to come help with the rehearsal and this opened a door.  Patty will be flying up tomorrow and will be spending a week in Philly with a side trip to NY.  After all, that has to happen, right?

Once I place her on the plane, I’m driving back to friends in south LA to have a little time away for reflection and focus.  The vocal issues have continued.  It’s not so bad that I can’t fulfill my calling, but it’s getting increasingly difficult and consequently, very frustrating.  Thanks for the prayers, friends.

It’s been a wonderful September of ministry as we saw several come to Christ and many other various decisions.  The month ahead looks like another fairly busy time as the month moves on so, again, we appreciate your prayers on all counts.

Blessings,
John