Well, it’s been quite a week in Gates and Dyersburg. Today I was outside Dyersburg, TN, in a little church, Beech Grove Baptist. I’m friends with the “permanent interim” pastor and wanted to hold over from my time at Gates Baptist to be with him and his sweet fellowship. There were 23 in attendance this morning and I found out that the church had never had anything “special” in their church. Hard to believe but it was a blessing to be with them.

Tonight the attendance more than doubled with more than 50 turning out as I used several friends and just had a good time laughing and challenging the group to be faithful in their service to Him. At this point I have to thank my supporters for their gifts that enable me to take on a ministry opportunity like this. Thank you!

On the Yazoo front, Patty drove there from Gatesfollowing the revival. On Thursday, she drove in and immediately began the preparations to get Mr. Shurley home from the swing bed/ rehab center. He’s doing very well and is really looking forward the “springing that joint”, ha ha.

The bathroom has been completely remodeled with the exception of the shower doors that will be installed in the next couple of days. Patty had a bit of a small panic the other day when she went into the house and the constuction company had removed all the protective plastic, cleaned up and were gone. Why panic? I’m glad you asked. The fine, powder like dust had made it’s way everywhere. Everywhere. As much as an inch layer on things as far away as the den and kitchen area at the other end of the house. She said it was unbelievable. She worked all day Saturday and all this afternoon doing everything from washing linens, vacuuming the matresses, dusting and wiping down furniture as well as “Swiffering” the walls and ceiling. She was a maniac and did an incredible job getting things ready for him.

I will leave TN in the morning to drive back to AL and home. It’s time to begin preparations for this summer’s VBS and the family rally this Saturday in MS. Thank you, again, for all the prayers as we fulfill His call.

Blessings!
John

Although we had no public movement at the invitation, the crowd was really good and there were more students there than they’ve had in quite sometime. I was concerned about the possible change in spirit because of the unchurched kids that might attend but God heard your prayers and blessed our efforts. The pastor told me that although we had not seen a great deal of movement, he was very much aware of several decisions that were a sign of revival all by themselves. Praise the Lord.

We ask for your prayers on Patty’s behalf tomorrow as she drives back to Yazoo City. She will tie up any loose ends at her dads house to make ready for his return home on Monday and I will remain here for a few more days where I will have Sunday services at Beech Grove Baptist Church outside Dyersburg.

Again, thank you for your prayers as we continue the work.

Blessings,
John

a sweet service but diminished crowd. We were blessed that several pastors from the Monday morning breakfast came tonight. I’m guessing the crowd was a bit intimidated! Glad I wasn’t alone! Haha. No, it was a good night with a sweet time of worship.

Tomorrow will be a somewhat busy day wrapping up the day with the closing service. We would appreciate your prayers as always. Wednesday night is typically a larger group of kids and youth and could be wonderful but also might stand to be a distraction as the church ministers to many kids that come from unchurhched homes so pray that the message will be clear and lives will be changed.

Blessings,
John

The pastors breakfast at the associational office was fun this morning. I just used a couple of “friends” to share a laugh and encourage them and their wives.

It was a small crowd present tonight but God moved throughout. There was as much movement as I’ve seen at this church in the years I’ve been coming and we thank the Lord for it. The pastor said the sermon was dead on to where many of his people are. I love it when God does that! I purposefully never ask the pastor for any inside info and when God ties it all in it’s really awesome!

Tomorrow is a slower day for me and il. Take some time to study and rest my voice, staying out of the pollen too, of course.

We appreciate your prayers as God continues working in the hearts and lives of everyone in attendance at Gates Baptist Church.

Blessings,
John

Services went really well today as we began the revival effort at Gates Baptist Church. Both services were well attended with a number of new faces, as far as I was concerned. I’ve been ministering to this church for a number of years now and the pastor is beginning his 2nd year here. He is seeing this new blood coming in, albeit slower than he would like but coming in nevertheless.

The Lord led me in my preparations to focus on the Christian responsibility of our calling to reach out beyond the church walls. I was unaware of the pastor’s recent emphasis on the same thing. I guess the church will think he gave me inside info. I love when God does that.

Tomorrow morning I am speaking at the associational Pastor’ Prayer Breakfast. Sure would appreciate the prayers.

Patty is with me and is in regular touch with her dad. He is doing well and looking forward to the 29th when, Lord willing, he will be moving back to his home.

Blessings,
John

I’m here (Enterprise) and she’s there (Yazoo).  Sure wasn’t the plan but not much has gone according to plan.  Our plan, that is.  God’s plan is perfect so here is what He has revealed thus far.

Patty headed out early Thursday morning to get to Yazoo before the big storm arrived.  If you’ve been keeping up with the blog, you know she went in to evaluate everything, line up things that weren’t ready and do anything else that needed doing.  Well, she has found things well on schedule.  God is working everything out in His time.  Mr. Shurley will want someone to come in around noon and stay until 4, preparing one meal and doing some light housekeeping.  That has been lined up now.  Patty found the construction company busy and seemingly “ahead” of schedule.  They are now waiting on the new shower to arrive, having already widened the doorway and framed it out, in essence finishing it.  Mr. Shurley is still scheduled for discharge on Monday the 29th.  We are thankful for your prayers and ask that you keep them going that there be no unscheduled delays to keep things from being completed.  As of now, Patty plans on driving up to the TN revival tomorrow to join me then head back to Yazoo on Thursday.

That brings me to the other part of His plan.  I was scheduled to drive to Yazoo City today and on to the TN revival tomorrow.  Well, while changing the oil in my truck the other day, I was reminded of a tire that needed attention.  I had forgotten about it so I ran my truck out to my tire guy to see if I might be able to make this upcoming trip on it and get things taken care of when I get back.  Nope!  Not recommended, so that was the agenda today.  Get new tires on the truck.  That means that tomorrow I will leave and just drive to TN.  This isn’t a problem, just different.  Patty was going to take her own vehicle anyway since she’ll drive back to Yazoo Thursday and I will hang over a few days to be in another church for Sunday services on the 28th.

I’m thankful that I didn’t drive to Yazoo yesterday on a tire that might not have handled the trip.  A blow out combined with all the storms would have made for a really fun combo.  I would appreciate your prayers on behalf of the revival effort as well.  In this meeting I will be doing the music and the preaching, so vocal strength and message clarity would be my desire.

Blessings,
John

We’re heading out!  We are not really sure how things are going to play out the next several days but we know that God’s plan is perfect.  Here’s how it looks right now.

The remodeling, we think, began today as yesterday the final “t” was crossed in preparation.  We will load tonight and head out tomorrow for Yazoo City.  As well as Patty’s dad and preparations to get him back to his house, my mom is recovering from a virus.  She’s feeling much better. Wouldn’t hurt for me to check in on her.

The news for Patty’s dad continues to be good.  The regional director of Physical Therapy for this facility actually took him to his house the other day and had him go through a series of functions such as lying in bed, getting up and walking to his bathroom, walking to the kitchen and reaching to an upper shelf to retrieve a coffee cup…etc, etc.  She called Patty and told her that there was no doubt he was not ready for a long term care facility but could live at home.  This is a man of 91 years.  What a blessing!  So, now Patty is busy lining up someone to come in for a few hours each afternoon, do a little light housekeeping, and cook a meal.  He will handle everything else.  The scheduled discharge from the rehab/swingbed facility is April 29th.  We are so thankful for this and appreciate your prayers.

On Saturday, Patty will make a final judgement as to whether she can travel up to TN for the revival meeting that begins Sunday.  There are several factors that will be weighed.  I will be leading the entire service, doing both the music and preaching.

I will be blogging results of services as well as prayer requests as the week goes along.

Blessings,
John

Max Lucado said that sometimes we as Christians expect our days to be the desserts.  Because we are followers of Christ we feel our days should all be sweet and easy going.  To be enjoyed…….  He goes on to say that although we may think that way, it certainly isn’t so.  No, there will be days where vegetables are served.

The scripture says; “He causes His rain to fall on the just and the unjust”.  Well, today was a brussel sprout day.  Oh, don’t get me wrong, hardly as bad as all that…we just got a kick out of everything.

As you are aware, Patty got that phone call telling us that her dad was to be discharged from the swingbed facility next week.  This after we had been told it would be the middle of May at the earliest and were in the process of getting a contractor lined up to remodel his bath in order to make things easier for him.

So, the phone calls begin and through a series of calls, we are halfway there.  The contractor begins work on Monday.  We are waiting to hear from the facility as to whether we can stretch his stay to the end of the month.  If we had one prayer that would be it.  His file will be reviewed on Monday and a decision will be made.  The administrator said she would do what she could but the best would be to give us the rest of April.  So, PRAY!!

Other odds and ends, “vegetables”, one might say were sprinkled or served throughout the day.  Nothing much to complain about, for sure.  God is in control and we are reminded of this daily.

I’m working now, feverishly, on my messages for the upcoming meeting in TN.  Thanks for checking in!

Blessings,
John

It was a good trip home today as we got ahead of some pretty serious storms.  We were warned of them last night and decided that we would make our travel plans depending on the weather once we got up and going.  We were able to pull out of northeast MS about 10 min before 8:00 a.m.

We give thanks for any remembrance of us and this ministry that you may exercise on our behalf.  Last night’s closing service was full and we saw 3 professions of faith.  We are so grateful to see God work this way.

On our way home today, with Patty following me (remember she had her car because of a Yazoo trip earlier) she got a call from the swing bed/phys therapy unit her dad is in telling her they may be discharging as early as next week.  This has floored us.  As of last week, we were told we should be planning on, at the earliest, the first of May but more than likely it would be the second week of May.  We aren’t ready, gang.  We are trying to arrange some remodeling of the house there in Yazoo City to help him better live by himself and this hasn’t gotten off the ground good yet, let alone ready for his return.  Please pray that we make the right decisions as we move forward.  Time is off the essence but these decisions are not easy ones.  We are thankful that we have this opportunity and know that God is in control.

We will continue our “at home” schedule this week.  I’ll be concentrating on the next couple of events and Patty will be handling her dad’s stuff from here and making decisions as we talk it all out.

Thanks for the prayers!
Blessings,
John

Here in Golden, MS, where cell service is “one bar” at best, I’ve managed to grab onto a wireless network in another location just long enough to give an update.

Things have started off pretty well and attendance has been good. There was a bit of non communication leading up to the event…things that would have helped just a bit in my planning, but as things have settled in, it’s going well. Continue to pray for the Holy Spirit’s leadership. Tonight is a youth/salvation emphasis so join us in praying for the harvest, please.

On the other side, the pollen here is causing a few health issues in both Patty and me so if you would lift this up to the Lord, we would appreciate it. Pray for clarity. Pray for my voice, and most importantly pray for His will and way.

Blessings,
John