Belize Medical Mission Trip

This Saturday, June 30, Lynetta and I will be heading down to Belize in Central America on a Medical Mission trip. We are going with a group from the Maury Hills church, Carmack Bulavard Church of Christ, and the Hohenwald Church of Christ. Lynetta went with the group 2 years ago. This will be my first time.

According to Lynetta and the others who have been before it is a life changing experience. I believe that it just might be. Because, after all of the horror stories about bugs, snakes, monkeys that bite, sickness, heat, hour long boat rides through less than ideal conditions, rude customs agents and bad plane flights, Lynetta still longs to go back. It has been her dream ever since she came back the first time to return again and take me with her. So, here we go.

So please remember to pray for us. Pray for the safety of our team. Pray that we will all model the love of Jesus to everyone we meet and everyone we serve.

Oh yeah, and while your at it, please pray for our teenagers that we will be leaving at home. Pray that they will behave and not kill each other before we get back.

To see daily updates of our trip go to the Maury Hills web site, or Russ Adcox' blog page. (Both links are at the bottom of the page.)

3 Down, 2 To Go

When you have 5 kids you would think that some of the standard milestones in life would become a little more familiar and a little easier to handle. Well here we are graduating number 3 and it wasn't any easier. Me and Ma still spent the entire evening wiping away tears.

I still remember the lost feeling I had when we dropped Kari, our eldest, off at college in Searcy Arkansas - some 5 hours away. Just knowing that we were not going to see her from August until she came home that fall for Thanksgiving was a little overwhelming to say the least. We really thought it would be easier with the next one. Andrea went to Tennessee Tech. only 2 hours away - it wasn't. I was surprised to feel the same sense of loss and emptiness that I felt with the first one.

Well here we go again. Matthew plans to go to Lipscomb this fall. Lipscomb is less than an hour away. But I know from experience now that the distance does not have much to do with it. The loss and the emptiness is real no matter how far away they go.

I always jokingly say that I will be dancing when I finally get the last one through school. But I don't really mean it. Yes, I've been there - done that, but that just means I know what to expect. So if you happen to see me or Lynetta at the next two graduations, and you happen to need a Kleenex, just ask. We will have a pocket full.

May he give you the desire of your heart and make all your plans succeed. We will shout for joy when you are victorious and lift up our banners in the name of our God. May he grant all your request Psalms 20: 4-5

More than I could ever imagine

If someone had told me 20 years ago that I would be traveling around middle Tennessee on a Harley Davidson, I would have thought they were crazy.
But that is exactly what Ma and I have been doing.

As we were cruising down the Natchez Trace Parkway, enjoying some of the most beautiful scenery in the entire world, three things occurred to me:

First, was how much my life has changed from my Northern, Buick City, industrial, inner city roots. Not that my roots, my upbringing, or my other life was bad – it wasn’t. It was just different – really different. It was a different time and a world away – so much so that there are times it doesn’t even seem real. But that’s another story for another time.

The second thing I realized was how truly blessed I am. God has changed my life and blessed me with way more already than I could ever ask for or imagine. Not that I deserve it mind you – I don’t – I mean I really don’t! In fact I deserve just the opposite. But God, because he is God, has blessed me in spite of me.

The last thing was how eternity really starts now. Those of us waiting for Heaven or the great hereafter to start enjoying God’s blessing are really missing out on what the great Satchmo called A Wonderful World.


Now to him who is able to do immeasurably more than all we ask or imagine, according to his power that is at work within us, to him be glory in the church and in Christ Jesus throughout all generations, for ever and ever! Amen. Ephesians 3:20

Me and some Biker Chick

This Picture is from April of this year. Old news I know, but I thought you may need to know what two old folks like Lynetta and I were doing in Panama City Beach during spring break.

We took our three youngest and each of them got to take a friend. So us "old folks" got to hang out with six teenagers for spring break. It was actually a lot of fun.

Gardens, Weeds, and Fresh Starts

I love gardening. I love watching things grow, especially in the spring time. I get all excited and always plant more garden than I can possibly handle. In March and April I can never seem to get through the check out line at Wal-Mart without buying a few more packs of seeds.Lynetta always laughs at me. She has seen this same ritual repeat itself now for the past 31 years. I always start out with big plans and dreams - then somehow about the middle of June - when the weeds start to take over - I start to lose my enthusiasm. By August God and I have grown some of the biggest weeds you have ever seen - but not much garden.But that's OK - Because in September I just go and rent a big Rototiller, grind it all up, and start all over - dreaming of next year.

Sadly this is not always possible with the rest of the big plans and dreams that I have. For example: Lynetta also laughs each time I start talking about losing weight and getting in shape. She always makes this big swooshing sound and says something like "I’ve heard this big wind blow before." It's not that she is not supportive; it's just a natural response that comes from having lived with me for so long.Like my loving wife I know from experience that no matter how enthusiastic and determined I am at the start - the weeds and the troubles and the hunger and the slow progress will weigh me down, discourage me, and finally over take me.But like my garden, there is always next year - or then again - maybe not.

I will turn 50 years old in October. Last week, because of recurrent chest pain, I had a Cardiac Catheterization Procedure done. (That is where the Doctor runs a big tube up through your femoral artery into you heart) And although there were no blockages I was diagnosed with Coronary Artery Disease. I am a Cardiac Nurse by trade. I know all to well what this means. It means that without some significant lifestyle changes there may not be many more spring times to start over.

So I’m trying hard to become a better weed puller. This time I am determined to keep my garden and my arteries clean. It’s going to be a long dry summer.

Proverbs 16:3 Commit to the Lord whatever you do, and your plans will succeed.