Rise and Shine 

Thanks ahead of time to Kris Moore, David Barnett, and Tim Norman for filling my teaching and preaching responsibilities while I’m away at Palo Duro this weekend. We are blessed to have a lot of capable men who are able and willing to fill in to meet our various needs from time to time.

Several families (including my own) will be away for Parkway Drive’s 2008 Youth Retreat. It will be held at Hidden Falls Ranch and is an event that is designed to help young people get closer to God. This quick weekend retreat is dominated by Bible sessions and devotionals, but will also include things like a hike into the canyon and an evening hay ride. There won’t be a lot of free time in the crowded schedule, but it does promise to be quite exciting. By late Sunday afternoon when we return, we expect to be both physically drained and yet spiritually renewed. (Of course, it will probably take some of us older ones a few more days to recover than the younger ones!) Anyway, please keep both our physical safety and spiritual health in your prayers as we are gone. We certainly need them and would appreciate them! A few years ago a deacon at another congregation sent me a note he had received about “Great Truths About Life That Little Children Have Learned.” I hope a couple of these will make you smile: “No matter how hard you try, you can’t baptize cats…If your sister hits you, don’t hit her back. They always catch the second person…Never hold a dust buster and a cat at the same time…The best place to be when you are sad is in Grandma’s lap.” See you Sunday!

Ron