What a wonderful vacation (but it all changed)
Good morning everyone it's Wednesday June 19th and I'm finally able to catch my breath just enough to jot down a thought or two.
Cindy and I really enjoyed our recent vacation. We want to express our appreciation and gratitude to those who took care of things in our absence.
First of all let me give a shout out to Pastor Wade Burton, Bro. George Hill, Dean Bowling, and Jerry Arnold.
These guys filled the pulpit for me while I was away and from everything I've heard they did a fantastic job.
I expected nothing less.
The place where we vacationed reminded us again of God's creative work and the beauty that He has placed upon this earth for all of us to enjoy.
You have to stand and marvel at the canvas that God uses everyday to paint a picture for all of us to behold.
From the blue sky you are flying through to the white sands of the beach to the water that is crystal clear.
God is an awesome God.
Then it all changed for us on Saturday.
Celebration immediately turned to sadness.
I noticed on my cell phone that I had missed several calls. I could not return any calls from the beach I had to wait until later in the afternoon to find out what in the world was going on.
Then about 5:30 Saturday evening the word finally reached me.
Mrs. Jamie Kunkle had passed away and went home to be with the Lord.
Man you talk about a kick to the stomach and a punch directly to my heart.
Wow!
I could not believe what was being said to me over the phone. I knew that she had been experiencing a few medical problems but nothing over the top or at least that's what we thought.
However, sometime during the morning hours leading into Saturday morning Jamie heard the Lord call her name and she answered faithfully.
Did she want to leave? I don't think so. Was she ready to go? Spiritually; absolutely.
And truth be told ladies and gents that's all that really matters.
All of us would like to extend our heart felt sympathy to Mick, Mike, and Travis.
It's just not going to be the same for a while around here without her to pick on.
Yet this is just another reminder to all of us how God's grace is still sufficent even in the most difficult of circumstances.
I am looking forward to being back in the pulpit come Sunday morning.
After missing 2 weeks it seems almost a lifetime has passed.
Before I forget I want to say a huge thanks to Dr. Mitch Brooks Pastor of Second Baptist Church in Belton.
Mitch is now Mike & LeeAnn's Pastor and he is a great guy.
I've known him for a long time and he loves his folks and it's clear that Mike & LeeAnn love him also.
His church did a wonderful job being here to support Mike & LeeAnn and I really appreciated seeing that.
Well it's Wednesday and I really need to get busy preparing the final message in the series we've been working through:
"Why winning the lost is so important"
This coming Sunday I will wrap up the series with a message entitled:
"Jesus is coming back soon."
Folks it's up to the church to do the work because the world is certainly not going to tell the lost they need to come to Jesus.
Let's get busy with winning the lost before it's too late.
God bless all of you and thanks again for allowing us the time away.
There's no place like home; I'm back.
Email me with any thoughts or comments you might have about this weeks article.
curteidson@gmail.com
'living here but looking up'