Thank God for good news!

July 10, 2007
It is 9:00PM - Sherry (Burton) is now awake and not in pain except for her shoulders. ( result of the gases they pump in to expand the abdominal cavity, which rises to your shoulders) Not able to eat yet, and moving v e r y slow and only when absolutely necessary. Her surgery went well. The cyst was so large that they had to take the ovary also. Doc said she would feel MUCH better now. He also assured us that everything else looked good and there was no cause for concern. I ask what caused these things and he said "Bad Luck". Actually we feel blessed.. it could have been so much worse...
Thank you for your prayers.. past - present - and future.
Windel

Holiday Pneumonia

I just finished a round of antibiotics for pneumonia. Boy it was rough. I came down with what I thought was the flu or a really bad cold on Thursday, June 28. By Friday at noon I could tell it was something else. Inez listened to me and said when I can hear you wheezing across the room and your lungs sound "gunky" it isn't just a cold.

Well I listened to Inez's advise and she called and got me in to see Dr. Johnson. His evaluation after listening to me was that I "sounded pretty gunky in there." Highly educated medical terminology "gunky" means it wasn't good. After a couple of x-rays that showed I had the beginning of pneumonia in the upper lobe of my left lung, Dr. Johnson gave me a gram of rochephin and a script for a broad based antibiotic for 10 days.

Being sick over a holiday wasn't the best of scheduling, like it could have been scheduled. Well we are now in day 11 and I feel like I am pretty much mended. I still have a little scratchy cough occasionally and a sneeze here and there, but I feel like I am 90 to 95% back to my normal self.

I have had a lot of calls and e-mails with well wishes that was so nice. I appreciate all of them so very much. Most of all, it is good to be back to feeling so much better.

Worship Questions

Here we are again with another set of daily questions. I was reading Mike Root's blog and saw his latest Top Ten list. I flipped over and was watching the "Sin Video" on Holly's blog and the questions come back. Well here goes at my own attempt at a Top Ten Questions list.

10. If "WORSHIP" is a lifestyle and not just a few hours inside a building, why is there a "Closing Prayer? Why wouldn't it be a "Continuing Prayer?"

9. If worship is a lifestyle and not just a few hours, why is it OK to have a group sing, perform a skit, have a choral performance, etc. only after the "Closing Prayer?" A real delema for all of you lifetime c of c'ers.

8. What gifts, talents, ways of encouragement and means to share Jesus have we and do we miss out on because we have accepted traditions over truth and buried our head in the sand?

7. If women are to be silent in the church, why are the songs we sing for worship written in 4-part harmony?

6. Why is gathering around a piano or guitar and singing Christian songs, "church songs" less instrumental worship - at home - than in a "church building?"

5. We say there is nothing sacred about the CHURCH BUILDING, but why do we think CHURCH only meets at the building?

4. We say there is nothing sacred about the CHURCH BUILDING, but why do we actually act like worship only takes place in the church building?

3. If women are not to be a part of the public assembly, why do we let them pass the communion trays and offering baskets down the pews? (A little simplistic, but I was asked this question not too long ago.)

2. If we look back to the cross for forgiveness and redemption, we look forward to the cross for salvation, then why do pictures of the cross on screen or a cross on stage seem out of place and apparently scare some people so much?

1. If there is truth in the 9 previous questions, are we not putting limits on ourselves and on God?

I have some answers but there are always more question. Sometimes the answers turn into questions. Here is another question, don't we need to be asking these types of questions and being like the Bereans? Acts 17:11 "Now the Bereans were of more noble character than the Thessalonians, for they received the message with great eagerness and examined the Scriptures every day to see if what Paul said was true."

The Musical

We just finished the Antioch Summer Outreach Musical this past Sunday night. About three and a half months of work, three nights of the performances and about 800 people total who came to those performances to see us perform the Randy Gill - Jeff Walling version of Noah and the Ark. In all, there were about 70 people who work on or acted in this production. It was a lot of work and there were those who did so much more than I did to make it happen. It is always a happy closing night because you can let lose and have fun with the characters and adlib some stuff along the way. But, it is sad too. Sad in the fact that just about the time you have confidence in getting the lines down, where you are supposed to stand and those dance steps (something hard for us life long c of c people who can't dance and just don't have that body rythm) and getting it all put together in front of an audience, it ends.

This was my fourth of five musicals at Antioch. It is always hard to compare from year to year. There are really no comparisons because all of them are different and all of them have different people, different characters, different everything! One thing that was different this year was the "ROOT-Em On" award. Marcus Miller came up with the ideas in honor of Mike Root who started the Summer Musicals. It was two plastic goblets decorated with ribbon and ginger root. It was passed from person to person each night for work, effort and enhancing the performance for someone in the cast and crew. I thought this was a wonderful tribute to Mike for getting the Musicals started and the standard he set for the musicals.

I'm not sure how many more musicals I will be in if any. This year was a predominantly female cast and during the rehersals and the performances I realized that I was an in-between-er. It came to me that I was somewhere in between some of the groups of people in the cast and crew. Unfortunately there wasn't any of my close friends or hanging buddies in this play. It occurred to me that I wasn't connected to Antioch like I once was. We are involved in the CareStone ministry and have gotten committed to doing that each Sunday. We have gotten close and developed such a connection with our Small Group that overlaps the Sunday evening service we don't see people at Antioch as often and it has widened the connect I had with people at Antioch.

I guess the musical made me think about some of the questions I had set aside. Questions about truth over traditions, questions about double standards, about why things are accepted in certain situations and not in others? That made me realize I was an in-between-er because I didn't see anything wrong with it back then, just like I don't see anything wrong with it now. So, I am in between those people who do and did have that prejudice about an instrumental track. It made me realize that I still have those questions about what are we missing out on that God gives us because of our anchors on traditions?

LOVE ALWAYS

One day a woman's husband died, and on that clear, cold morning, in the warmth of their bedroom, the wife was struck with the pain of learning that sometimes there isn't anymore. No more hugs, no more special moments to celebrate together, no more phone calls just to chat, no more "just one minute." Sometimes, what we care about the most gets all used up and goes away, never to return before we can say good-bye, say "I love you." So while we have it, it's best we love it, care for it, fix it when it's broken and heal it when it's sick. This is true for marriage ... And old cars .. And children with bad report cards, and dogs with bad hips, and aging parents and grandparents. We keep them because they are worth it, because we are worth it. Some things we keep -- like a best friend who moved away or a classmate we grew up with. There are just some things that make us happy, no matter what. Life is important, like people we know who are special, and so, We keep them close! I received this from someone who thought I was a 'keeper'! Then I sent it to the people I think of in the same way. Now it's your turn to send this to all those people who are "keepers" in your life, including the person who sent it if you feel that way. Suppose one morning you never wake up, do all your friends know you love them? I was thinking...I could die today, tomorrow or next week, and I wondered if I had any wounds needing to be healed, friendships that needed rekindling, or three words needing to be said. Let every one of your friends know you love them. Even if you think they don't love you back, you would be amazed at what those three little words and a smile can do. And just in case GOD calls me home .....

[submitted by Jimmie Sue Mathis]

The Wisdom of Larry The Cable Guy

The wisdom of Larry the cable guy.......
1. A day without sunshine is like night.
2. On the other hand, you have different fingers.
3. 42.7 percent of all statistics are made up on the spot.
4. 99 percent of lawyers give the rest a bad name.
5. Remember, half the people you know are below average.
6. He who laughs last, thinks slowest.
7. Depression is merely anger without enthusiasm.
8. The early bird may get the worm, but the second mouse gets the cheese in the trap.
9. Support bacteria. They're the only culture some people have.
10. A clear conscience is usually the sign of a bad memory.
11. Change is inevitable, except from vending machines.
12. If you think nobody cares, try missing a couple of payments.
13. How many of you believe in psycho-kinesis? Raise my hand.
14. OK, so what's the speed of dark?
15. When everything is coming your way, you're in the wrong lane.
16. Hard work pays off in the future. Laziness pays off now.
17. How much deeper would the ocean be without sponges?
18. Eagles may soar, but weasels don't get sucked into jet engines.
19. What happens if you get scared half to death, twice?
20. Why do psychics have to ask you for your name?
21. Inside every older person is a younger person wondering, "What the heck happened?"
22. Just remember -- if the world didn't suck, we would all fall off.
23. Light travels faster than sound.

Submitted by a friend in an e-mail, funny or true take your pick.

5 Years Ago Today

It was 5 years ago today that Aunt Mary passed away. I remember that day and the day before well. I remember that we had talked about several things those last few days and that she was glad she was here, close to Patty, Ora Kay, Inez and me.

Since the passing of Mama Ruth, Aunt Mary had taken on the role of Matriarch for our family. She became the central person for most of the Stubblefield family to contact. She was the one to call, mail, etc. When she died, we lost that center point to our family and didn't have anyone to fill that family spot.