Best Friends

Do you have a best friend? I do. His name is Martin Whipple.

We actually went to kindergarten together. His family moved away for a few years, then we ended up back at Lone Star Elementary School together in 4th grade. We were inseparable through high school and best men at each other's weddings.

A couple of weeks ago, Martin came for a visit; he knew I have been sick. He took my girls fishing in the afternoon (swears they "accidentally" fell in the lake) giving up watching the OSU football season opener to do so. Then, he comes back to the house and watches the OU football season opener with me!



For about three months, we have been planning a fishing weekend together. When I got sick, we were sure I'd be well by that weekend. Not realizing I was going to take a turn for the worse, we still made plans to go fishing. As the time was approaching, we began to realize it wasn't going to be our typical play hard-rest little weekend. He came on to Wagoner anyway, (he lives in Enid, OK) under the condition that I not over-do it and would tell him if I needed to rest or stop all together. I got Dad involved and last Friday, we took Dad's boat out on Ft. Gibson to fish for sand bass.

It was a BEAUTIFUL day; the first sunny day we'd had in two weeks. The lake was out of its banks because of all the rain we've had, but we made it work anyway. While we didn't catch many fish, we all agreed that the time spent was the real fun.



Unfortunately for me, just sitting in the back of a boat (not the boat pictured in the post below, but a nice bass boat) holding my rod was too much for me. By the time we quit (about 4 hours of 'fishing') I was totally exhausted. However, we didn't have anything to eat out at the lake, so we drove into Muskogee for supper. Afterward, we went back to the lake house and watched Lethal Weapon 4 with the surround-sound turned WAY UP!

When I woke up Saturday morning, I was a little anxious because I woke up exhausted. Nevertheless, we decided to go crappie fishing down at the dock. Sally had given strict orders that I wasn't supposed to "accidentally fall in the lake", so I found some waders to get me to the flooded walkway.



Dad caught a little catfish, Martin caught two small perch, and I got skunked! But I had the time of my life!

The Bible says "... there is a friend who sticks closer than a brother." (Proverb 18:24) For me, this friend is Martin Whipple.

Boat Damage

I posted about Mom and Dad's new boat that they bought back in the Spring here. Above is a picture of it I took over the Fourth of July holiday. It was one of the nicest boats you could ever imagine! Mom had been restoring all of the teak wood accents and flooring. Dad had it completely re-upholstered. It was beautiful!


Over Memorial Day weekend, my brother, Pat, took it out and was having a good time. A friend of his was going to drive by really fast on his Ski-do, turn, and drench Pat and his wife, Debbie. However, at the last moment, he wasn't able to control it and rammed full speed into the boat.


The force of the impact broke completely through the hull of the boat. Pat told everyone to don their life jackets and he drove full speed back into the cove to try to get it in the dock before it sank. Fortunately, the driver of the Ski-do wasn't hurt, but Debbie had her knee right up against the hull and it hurt her knee pretty bad and ended up at the emergency room. Pat was able to make it back to the dock (because of the way the hull broke, as long as he kept moving, water didn't come in) and it didn't sink.

Thankfully, Debbie has pretty well recovered and there was no serious injuries. The man's insurance will pay for the boat, as it is a total loss...

Visitors from Vinita

Sally's Mom, Juanita, Audrey, Emily, Sally, and Sally's sister, Mary

Early Birthday for Emily

While Emily's birthday isn't until Sept 28, Grandma and Aunt Mary made a pre-birthday visit last week or so.

Emily was VERY HAPPY with what she received.

Everyone loves to watch kids open presents!

Sally's Birthday Pic

This was way back in August, but I finally got around to downloading/uploading the picture! It was a small cake because I was sick and we only had a very small party.

Back in the Top Ten

According to the Week 4 Poll, Oklahoma is now #10 in AP and #9 in USA today!

Boomer Sooner!

100 Years Ago Today

Doll Boy in about 1925 at about 16 years old.

100 years ago today, my grandfather, W.C. Saylors, was born in Paris, TX. My mother started calling him "Doll Boy" when she was 4 or 5 years old; no one is quite sure why. But Doll Boy stuck and that's what we all called him.

Doll Boy lighting the candles on my birthday cake in about 1971 or so

He died back in 1975, some 34 years ago. I can't believe he's been gone that long. I was his first grandson; like me, he had only daughters. I'm told he brought me a baseball glove and bat when I was still in the hospital, just after I was born. I'm beginning to understand the sentiment.

Doll Boy's foot marker in Sapulpa, OK.

I consider him to be among my "cloud of witnesses" and one day I'll see him again in Heaven, because he obtained the forgiveness of God by believing in and accepting Jesus has his Savior. I occasionally dream about my grandpa; not nearly often enough. I sure would like to go fishing with him, one more time...

Happy Birthday, Doll Boy. I miss you.

Last Day of Summer in OK

Today is the last day of summer. It's going out with a bang! We have a severe thunderstorm right now (5:45 pm). I just noticed that the Oklahoma Mesonet posted this on Facebook:

Oklahoma Mesonet There's a heat index of 93 deg F in Idabel and a wind chill index of 34 deg F in Boise City. It's autumn in Oklahoma!

I was going to try to make it home before the storm hit, but I judged wrong and am now spending a little quality time in the office.... I turned on my TV to get the updated weather report and the storm is affecting the DTV so bad that it is basically worthless.

Oklahoma 45 - Tulsa 0

Back to back shut-outs. Now THAT'S what I'm talking about!

Boomer Sooner!

I'm Not a Conspiracy Theorist, but.....

I'm not a "Conspiracy Theorist", but there are sure some weird things going on in Washington, DC, right now.

I honestly don't think Obama has our nation's interest at heart.

If it had been George W. or even Clinton doing these same things, he would have been impeached by now.

Why didn't the DC Tea Party make the mainstream news? A million people protesting the government and the president seems to be a pretty big deal to me.

What's really going on here?

Oklahoma 64 - Idaho State 0

Now, that's more like it!

In two games, we averaged 38.5 points and our opponents have averaged 7 points per game. Of course, that doesn't tell the whole story, but it sure makes me feel better!

Boomer Sooner!

Equipped for Adventure by Scott Kirby - Book Review

SCOTT KIRBY presents perhaps the most practical resource for short term mission trips currently available. Equipped for Adventure: A Practical Guide to Short-Term Mission Trips (New Hope Publishers 2006) is the prerequisite handbook for pastors, mission team leaders, and mission team participants. The first section of the book deals effectively with a case for short term mission trips and their necessity in our culture today. Kirby lays out the arguments for and against short term mission trips and adequately answers the concerns for the perceived short-comings of short term trips.

The second section of the book gets right to the heart of the matter of planning, funding, preparing, promoting, and potential problems of short term missions. This is not a simply theory text; it is a practical guidebook which should be required reading for every pastor (for its passionate case for mission involvement) every short term mission team leader (for it practical guide to think about what could be easily overlooked) and every short term mission team participant (for its relevant and practical advice).

As a former career missionary who has been on the field end of volunteer mission teams, I wholeheartedly recommend this book to current field personnel (missionaries) who may one day receive volunteer teams. If it were up to me, I would make this book part of any mission teams training prior to field arrival. As a current pastor, I plan on implementing the book in future short term mission trips in which my church will participate.

I honestly wish I would/could have written this book. It is an excellent resource and I recommend it unreservedly to any and all who will one day participate in short term missions.

Buy the book now at CBD or Amazon.


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Old Friends - Sad News

I have really enjoyed getting reacquainted with friends from elementary school over Facebook! It has been great to see what folks are up to.

I was browsing some of my new "old" friends' profiles and saw comments from others, that have lead to new connections. I have been wondering about one of my old friends, Everett Archie, for a very long time and finally saw his little sister on FB. I wrote and asked about him only to find out that he had died in 1988!

I haven't seen my friend since eighth grade (1978) and he has been gone 21 years already. But the news hit me like a ton of bricks. I was so hoping to get back in touch with him through FB, but that shall never be.

It is so hard to think about my peers being dead. Everett and I were in Cub Scouts together and I always invited him to my birthday parties. Just knowing he's gone is really hard. I find myself overwhelmed with emotion today; a day of remembrance.

Update

Just to let everyone know what is going on:

• I still have a very deep, very aggravating, unproductive cough.
• I have an appointment with a pulmonologist on Oct 8, but am on the "cancellation" list to get an earlier appointment.
• As of 10 am this morning, I have been without a fever for 24 hours!
• I am still weak and get out of breath very quickly.
• I will not be preaching this Sunday.
• I plan to get back to work next week.
• My mind seems to be quite a bit clearer these past three days. (I've felt like I've been in a fog of sorts for the past two months; probably the fever)
• I am ready to be well.

This has been a particularly frustrating two months. I haven't felt like doing anything and when I did do anything, it sent me further "down". I am so far behind and have let so many things slip I can hardly stand it!

But, God is good! I haven't had any problem finding folks to fill in for me for sermons and teaching my Sunday School class. Church folk have mowed our grass three times and brought some meals to help out Sally. I think this has been harder on Sally than it has been on me. I thank God for a godly wife!

Thanks for your prayers; continue to pray for me as I deal with whatever is still down in my lungs, whether it is an atypical pneumonia or if it is some sort of fungal process.

Remember

Why are images like the one above absent from our newscasts? Why do we no longer see the towers fall? Must we be so politically correct that we can no longer remember?

Our enemies live on. There are those who pray for the death of the enemies of America. My church has "enemies of America" on our Wednesday night prayer list. We don't pray for vengeance; we pray that God would draw those who hate Him and hate us to Himself and redeem them from the evil one.

As an individual, (and as the church) we are called to love our enemies (Luke 6:27) and to pray for those who mistreat us (vs 28). To that end I hope I am being found faithful. As a secular nation, however, we are allowed to protect ourselves and to punish those who would seek to harm us. That is a very difficult fine line to follow as a believer and as an American. (When faced with this conflict, always choose Christ above country!)

We, as a nation, must not hate others. But, we must not also be misled by those who continually claim that Islam is a peace loving religion. It simply is not. Much ado has been made about the verses of the Koran that tout peace. The verses of the Koran that incite murder have been curiously and conveniently forgotten. Most Americans have not read the Koran. I understand why. If you are interested, you can find the English version here.

I have lived in three Muslim nations. One tribe that I lived among was so oppressed by Islam that they did not sing. An African tribe that does not sing! Who could have imagined!?! I know Muslims personally. I have employed many Muslims to work in my home and take care of my children. I still miss their presence in the life of my family. I am not finding faults with individuals; that would be ludicrous! I do find fault with a religion that does not speak of God in terms of love and forgiveness. I do find fault with a religion that denies the deity of Jesus Christ. I do find fault with a religion that promotes murder in order to gain favor with a god.

All of this to say: Remember, it was fanatical Muslims that murdered 2700 people 8 years ago today. Don't hate them; pray for their salvation.