Mold Me and Shape Me

This morning, I visited the High School to hear the Ladies Varsity Choir under the capable direction of Director Bryce Gage. They have come a long way from last year-the difference is night and day. Needless to say, I am extremely excited about the concert this coming Monday night!!

This afternoon I am starting a premarital counseling session with a couple that I will marry in October. This is my first and I am looking forward to getting to know them.

After that session, I will be counseling a teen from my youth group.

In between and afterward, I will be working on my sermon for this Sunday evening.

Looks like I have a full plate today.

You know, I asked God to mold and shape me into the leader that He wants me to be and He is answering my prayer by loading my days with good, hard work for His kingdom.

Realize this: God answers prayer in ways we can't always foresee!

Service For Him

I am really excited about my youth here in MF! One of my teens is going to set a regular time with me each week to accompany me on my visits to the members here in from the congregation. Last week, David and I visited with Jim and Helen Dobbs before his forthcoming surgery. This week, we were able to help with a struggling, young mother of 2 pay for her medication at the HEB Pharmacy. OK, so it wasn't our money but we did do the middle-man work and it felt good, just the same. Every week on Wednesday, we are going to set aside some time to do something to lift the spirits of our flock, peers or community members. I love doing this!

Random

OK, I am back. Where was I? Oh Yeah, this morning I accompanied a parent and a teen for a counseling session. Now I have returned to finish recounting the events of this past weekend.

After the Faith Academy game (or slaughter), I got ready to take the teens to Hamilton for an Acapella concert. We had a great time rocking out and then filling up on Storm's burgers and fries. We left at 4:30 and got back home at around Midnight.

I got up early Sunday morning to look over my class materials and spend time in prayer. Elizabeth and I got to eat lunch with a ministerial candidate and som other interested families.

That afternoon, I prepared the songbooks and ice chest for a great time of devotional that evening at the home of Chris and Julie Bridges. After filling up on good Julie Bridges food, we jumped on the trampoline, played street basketball and wrapped up the night singing, praying and studying around a campfire. It was perfect weather for it, too!

Yesterday, I subbed in High School Algebra and then held Meat Eaters last night in the Youth House.

This afternoon, I am going to look over a sermon that I have completed because I may be preaching this Sunday evening.

Tonight, I am going to the Middle School to take part in a Teen Suicide Prevention Seminar.

Only 10 more days before E and I get to move into our new house! We can't wait!!!

Only a little over 3 more months before a new life enters the Mitchell household. God, help us to be ready! Can you ever be ready to raise a child?!?

Here

It has been a blur over the past few days!

Saturday morning, Elizabeth and I caught the football game of Faith Academy vs. West Columbia Christian. Clayton Bridges made a TD and a great interception! The game lasted only about an hour, though, because Faith won it 48-0.

My ride is here so I will return in about an hour. I will tell you more about it when I come back.

Quote Of The Day

"I can't think of a more urgent need than enabling young people to understand their faith and preparing them to defend it against the onslaught of secular thought they encounter in their schools and in popular culture." - Charles W. Colson

Jim and Helen

I have just returned from the home of Jim and Helen Dobbs. They were tearfully overjoyed!!You see, last night 26 from the Youth decided to make a little DVD for him before going into surgery on Friday. We sang some songs, read some Scripture and individually told him that we were thinking of him and praying for him to get through this surgery. I took them the DVD and prayed with them for this difficult time.

Jim Dobbs is a well-loved man. Many from the church here are going to show their support on Friday by praying and being there. His brother, Buster Dobbs, is coming into town this coming week to be with him and his daughter, Ann, is coming a little later to help him in his recovery. And all of us will be here lifting him up to our God.

Please continue to pray for Jim and Helen in this time.

Thoughts

Jim Dobbs, our minister emeritus in Marble Falls, is going in for surgery this Friday and I ask that you keep him and his wife, Helen, in your thoughts and prayers. He is a hard worker for the Lord and His kingdom and has brought many to a deeper understanding of God and our walk with Him. His love and intelligence seem to know no boundaries. He is a great example to me.

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Today, Elizabeth, David G and I are going to visit 2 homes. The Dobbs and the Hahns. I am excited about talking and praying with Jim, Helen, A.L. and Imogene. Good, quality time with brothers and sisters in Christ. I love it!!

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Tonight, I have something planned for the youth, but I can't let it out of the bag until this evening! It is going to be good.

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"To pray is to change. Prayer is the central avenue God uses to transform us. If we are unwilling to change, we will abandon prayer as a noticeable characteristic of our lives. The closer we come to the heartbeat of God the more we see our need and the more we desire to be conformed to Christ...

James says: ‘You ask and do not receive, because you ask wrongly, to spend it on your passions’ (James 4:3). To ask ‘rightly’ involves transformed passions, total renewal. In prayer, real prayer, we begin to think God’s thoughts after Him: to desire the things He desires, to love the things He loves. Progressively we are taught to see things from His point of view.” - Richard Foster

Quote Of The Day

"The general human failing is to want what is right and important, but at the same time not to commit to the kind of life that will produce the action we know to be right and the condition we want to enjoy. This is the feature of human character that explains why the road to hell is paved with good intentions." - Dallas Willard

Praise God From Whom All Blessings Flow!

Elizabeth and I were thrilled with the news yesterday that our baby girl is going to be just fine. She is still due on January 9th and everything is great! The Amnio results came back healthy and normal! Thank you for your calls, letters and prayers. We love you all!!

On top of that, we closed on the sale of our house in the Village on Wednesday and we made an offer on a house here in MF yesterday. The offer was accepted with a possible closing date of October 6th! I can't wait to have devotionals and 5th Quarters this season in my own home!!

We just can't find a better church family anywhere than the one right here in MF! They have been so supportive and have helped us through all of the worry and pain. God bless them and all of you for what you have done!

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Now it's time for me to get ready for the Faith Academy game (with Clayton Bridges playing) @ 5:00, the reception at the Bridges that will follow, the Homecoming game (with John Bird and Zane Rogers playing-also David Griffin is up for Homecoming King) at Marble Falls @ 7:30 and the 5th Quarter that will follow at Bryce's house. From now to Midnight I have quite a bit to do!

Quote Of The Day

"Finally this morning, let me encourage you over the weekend to spend some time reading in Ephesians. It's hard to miss Paul's resolute desire that the identity of the Ephesian Christians would be formed by their connection to Christ and Christ alone.

Too often these days, we qualify our Christianity. "I'm conservative." "I'm liberal." "I'm progressive." "I'm traditional."

But spending time reading Paul reminds me that his calling card was "I'm Christ's person" nothing more, nothing less. I pray that my identity might be so singularly focused that, as was the case for Paul, others might see Jesus in me." - Jim Gardner

Even More

Tuesday came with a great time of fun for the High Schoolers. In the evening, I got to ride along with the Marble Falls High School Choir and the their director, Bryce Gage, in the Homecoming Float Parade. It was exciting to drive along and see all of the eager parade watchers and look on while the teens threw candy and gum with sprays of silly string at the members of the town. We then headed to the Johnson Park Pavilion for an uplifting pep rally getting us pumped about our Homecoming game this Friday against Del Valle. The band played, the choir sang, the cheerleaders cheered, the starlets starletted and the audience applauded! It was a great night!

Several More Things

David Griffin, one of my teens, is in my office right now. We are having a great time talking about life in general. You know, he is royalty-soon to be the Homecoming King!

When we were through with S3, Jasmine, David, Karla, Allan, Carrie-Anne and Elizabeth helped me and BOB move furniture and stuff out of the seemingly neverending Penske truck into the storage unit. Thank all of you for helping and making it so easy and quick!! You are awesome! Then on Sunday we...

Welcomed our new members in a New Member Luncheon in the large fellowship hall. It was good to get to know the newbies here in Marble Falls. We ate good that day and then rested up for...

The HS/MS Devo later that night at the home of Kyle and Marti Futrell. Swimming, Catchphrase Jr., Trampoline Jumping and a great time of singing with an outstanding devotional talk by Coach Futrell were the highlights of the evening! The next morning we...

Got ready to take BOB to Austin to return the truck and to depart for Benton, AR on a Greyhound Bus.

I even have more for later.

Several Things

Well, it has been a whirlwind over the past 4 days and I will bring you up to date on Marble Falls happenings.

First, my dad, Big Ol' Bear, came into town with a Penske truck full of our furniture and stuff from the house in AR. He got in on Saturday morning at 4:30. We got up around 10, had a great breakfast cooked by my sweetheart, and took it over to our Storage Unit. I left him at 1:30 to...

Begin the first ever S3: Second Saturday Servants here in Marble Falls, TX! This is anyone in the youth group that is able to come on the second Saturday of the month to serve this community in any way possible. 8 of us from the Youth Group packed up in a van and headed over to Gateway Villa, an assisted living facility here in town. We sang classics like: I'll Fly Away, In The Garden, Be With Me Lord, etc. then we shared some of our songs with them: As The Deer, A New Anointing, Sanctuary, etc. When we finished singing, we all sat down with the 25-30 ladies and shared our stories and listened to theirs. It was a perfect time to do it because Grandparents Day was Sunday and this week is Assisted Living Week! We then...

More To Come

Quote Of The Day

"What the gospel does is to administer a sharp jolt, to shine a bright light, to kick-start the brain, and the moral sensibility, into working properly for the first time." - Tom Wright

Out Of The Woods

We are relieved to say that there has been no damage to the baby due to the Amnio! Thank You, God, for an answer to our prayers!!

Now, we wait with baited breath for the results from that procedure that come in less than 2 weeks. These will let us know if our baby has Downs Syndrome or any other abnormality. Thank you for your continued prayers.

Update

Just thought I would let you know that Elizabeth has felt only a few mild cramps from the Amnio and the little baby is moving around all the time like always! That is giving us hope that we will make it past the 48 hour mark. Just 3 more hours to go!

Thank You

First of all, thank you for all of the calls, kind words and prayers. You don't know how much they are appreciated!

Elizabeth and I traveled to Austin yesterday for our appointments with the Texas Perinatal Group.

Our first appointment was the Advanced Sonogram-It went very well and there were no markers for chromosomal abnormalities. The Doctor said that was a good sign but that it was still not a total certainty that our baby did not have Downs.

The next appointment was Genetics Consultation-The counselor told us that the results from the new Sonogram brought our chances down to .5% of having a baby with Downs. That is not even 1%! We were left with the decision to either go home without truly knowing or have an Amniocentesis to know absolutely.

It was Elizabeth's decision and I am fully supportive of her. We had the Amnio done. It was pretty quick and painless. Dr. Ridgeway had me sit down because they have had more trouble with husbands when the needle is produced than with the actual patients! Thought that was a hoot! Anyway, it was done in a wink and relatively painless. We are not out of the woods for another 24 hours due to the Amnio, so keep that in your prayers.

We will know for certain in a couple of weeks. I will let you know when I know more. Thank you so much for all that you have done.

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"Put your hand in the hand of The One who stilled the waters
Put your hand in the hand of The One who calmed the seas
Put your hand in the hand of The Man from Galilee!"

At The End Of The Day

I am now home and able to blog. It is the very end of the day and I am exhausted!

Here's how it played out:

Elizabeth and I got up before the sunrise and left for Mesquite, TX where her mom, Mary, picked her up and took her back to HSV, AR to meet up with my dad, Jim, and pack up the rest of our stuff in the old house. We are supposed to be out before the 15th and this was a good weekend for all of them.

I came back in time to get ready for the football game of Marble Falls Mustangs vs. Llano Yellow Jackets. The game was an upset for me with a score of 41-10 Llano. It was not all that bad, though! I got to sit by the whole Stanglin clan and the Whittles. I also got to see a lot of the teens and hang with them.

After the game, several of us went over to the Lewis house for a 5th Quarter. It was great to shoot the breeze and play Catch Phrase!

Now I am getting ready to go to bed and sleep the night away!

What a great day.