While we on earth were working, sweating and praying the angels were rejoicing as 64 kids trusted Christ today at the Hunt Correctional Center in Baton Rouge.  57 fathers shared the gospel with their kids and 64 trusted Christ.  What a great day!!  The weather was hot, the sun was bright,the kids were having a great time and the Holy Spirit was busy working in the hearts of many children.

Thanks to the many of you who prayed.  Tomorrow I head over to Angola to drop a few things off and see the Malachi Dads then head back here to Baton Rouge to pick up Tammy and the kids to head over to the Gulfport area.  I will be out of contact with the internet world for 5 days so this will be my last post for a few days. 

Please continue to pray for us as we take time to relax and recharge physically.  Today my soul was refreshed in an awesome way.  Now I just need to let my body and mind get some rest.  Because of Him, Pastor.

Today was hot here in LA. Nice and sunny, but very hot.  We went over to Angola today to pick up the trailer full of stuff for Hunt.  All went well and we are now ready to set up tomorrow for the big Returning Hearts celebration on Saturday. 

I have had a great trip so far.  Today I spent going to Angola, in the pool and reading.  In a few moments we will head to dinner.  I have been enjoying reading a couple of different books.  One is entitled Point Man by Steve Farrar.  He speaks of how we as men must be leaders in our families.  Guys we have to step up and be there for our wives and kids.  It is not an option it is a must.  Passivity has caused us to allow a generation to be lost.  We as Christian men can no longer sit on the sidelines. 

Tomorrow as we head over to Hunt I will again be with a group of guys that really want to spend time with our kids and most of us spend all kinds of time away from our kids for no good reason.  We must step up and be with our kids, be a leader for our wives, help our kids understand what God wants from them.  I love my kids and sometimes I have allowed my ministry to get in the way of some opportunities to be with them.  Recently we have gotten three more kids that are ours to take care of for an undetermined amount of time.  I pray that I will be able to impact them, I pray that Nick will take heed to the life lessons God is trying to teach him too.  I pray that God will give me the wisdom to involve these young men in my life so they can see the joy there is in following Christ.  I pray that is your desire as well. 

That is why today has been so special to me, I have gotten to share a very special part of my life, my ministry at these prisons with my family.  I hope that they will catch the vision of how great a God we have and how great is is to serve Him.  Because of Him, Pastor

We arrived last evening about 7 at our hotel in Baton Rouge.  We have settled in and will stay here until Sunday when we will head over to MS.  The trip has been good and uneventful.  We look forward to all of the prison activities on Friday and Saturday.  Be praying that God will use us in a special way to help the prisoners be able to share the Gospel with their kids and that God will make our day a special one for everyone involved.

I have had some time to do some reading and was impressed by a chapter of a book I was reading on a family integrated church about reaching people for Christ.  A quote from the book is "are you really a fisherman if you have never caught any fish?"  That statement is one that makes me think.  We are commanded to share the Gospel.  We should not shirk our responsibility.  As I read this chapter the author stated a number of different mthods for sharing the Gospel.  He finished talking about how everyone uses different methods but we all must be sharing the Gospel. 

It doesn't matter how you share the Gospel just share it.  Be out telling people the good news.  Because of Him, Pastor.

Well graduation is over, school is done, another AWANA year has passed and we find ourselves on the edge of summer.  I am sorry for taking a while to add another entry but it has been a busy week with company and graduation and prepring to leave. 

First of all I am so grateful to live in a  country like America and I want to say thanks to all the veterans and military personel currently serving. The freedoms we enjoy in this country is due to the faithful service of the members of our armed services.

Secondly it is good to be off to minister and enjoy some time off.  We have arrived in Sikeston, MO and have enjoyed  nice dinner at Lamberts, some time at the pool and now it is time to relax in our room for a bit.  Tomorrow we head to Baton Rouge where we will stay the rest of the week.  I will try to keep you up to date on our trip as we go.  Because of Him, Pastor.

It has been a difficult week.  I ahve had to face a number of major crisis this week that could be very discouraging.  I am thankful that God has led people to pray for me.

A number of times this week people have told me that they are praying for em.  They didn't know what was going on or happening, but they felt God leading them to pray.  Thanks for being sensitive to that leading.

Keep praying, God is the Victor in all.  Because of Him, Pastor.

Yesterday a group of Chicago area Regular Baptist Pastors went to the Oriental Institute at the University of Chicago Campus.  It is filled with antiquities from Mesopotamia, Persia, Israel, Egypt and the civilizations of that area.  As we walked through the museum our guide was relating different items to Biblical time periods.  Every now and again she would say something like, this just proves that the Bible is reliable. 

While I do not need the confirmation of man, it is good to know we have God's Truth in our hands and it is reliable.  More than that I am glad that the God of the Bible confirms His presence in my life on a regular basis.  The last two days have been extremely hard ones.  But I have felt God's presence in a real way and know He is leading me every step of this journey. 

I am also thankful for the people God has placed in my life.  My church family is loving and understanding, friends are good and supportive.  God placed those people in my life to once again confirm His presence and His love for me.

Yes, the Bible is Truth, God is ever present and real and He is our help.  It's Real!!!!  Because of Him, Pastor.

I saw an article Friday that stated that the value of a stay at home mom was over $117,000 per year.  I guess these experts priced the work according to the world's standards what the worth of the various tasks would be and came up with that number.  I would say that the Mastercard commercial is more applicable to the value of mothers: PRICELESS!!!

The Lord has blessed me with a wonderful wife.  I am thankful for her support and love.  She is a great wife, a great pastor's wife and a loving mother.  She has been a great support.  The ministry can be very tough and it is even tougher without the support of a great wife. 

Tammy  is more than a teacher in our school, she manages the high school areas, she takes care of our house, counsels as a pastor's wife, is a shuttle service for (how many kids do we have now??) and besides all of this takes care of this big kid!!! Thank you Lord for giving me Tammy.

I also need to express my gratitude to God for a mom who was sooooo wonderful.  My mom was a living example of love.  She would always be there for me and my brother.  She was a good listener, a great supporter, an exhorter and a great cook on top of all that (doesnt it show!!).  She worked full time, kept our house immaculate and managed to keep two boys on track.  Thanks Mom.

I hope each of you took time to reflect on the wonderful ladies that God has placed in your path and thank Him for them.  Because of Him, Pastor.

Due to circumstances beyond my control we left late on Monday. We drove until midnight and got a hotel room in Blytheville, AR.  Got a good night's rest and got back on the road and arrived back about 6:45 tonight. I was glad to see my family and was excited to get a nice round of hugs from all.  I am tired but it is a good tired.

The trip was very successful.  We had a great time at Avoyelles Correctional Center and saw 40 kids come to Christ, led to salvation through their dads.  That is what this ministry is about and that is why I am so grateful to be a part of it. 

My prayer is that each father in our own church family would rejoice in the role that God has given them as the spiritual leader of their family.  They would desire to see their children come to know Christ and start sharing that good news at an early age.  Dads, God gave us the responsibility for our children's spiritual growth.

Yesterday at Angola we had a great meeting with the Malachi Dads Leadership Team.  I spent a great time fellowshiping with my friend George King.  George shared with me that he is thankful that God has given him us as family.  Please keep George in prayer.  He is thankful for our church family and looks forward to the day he can come serve along side us.

I will return to the office tomorrow, it will be good to get back at things here at FVBC.  It is wonderful to be abe to serve the Lord.  Because of Him, Pastor.

Today was a travel day for the most part.  We got up and left from Marksville grateful for God’s work in and through the work of Returning Hearts.  As we were leaving the hotel a lady was leaving in her “Returning Hearts”  t-shirt and stopped to say hi and thank you to all of us.  She related what the day meant to her and her children.  It was a powerful testimony and once again made all of us grateful to God for putting us in a position to be used of Him.

We arrived at Angola late this afternoon.  The guys at the Ranch House prepared a wonderful meal (as is usual) and we enjoyed fellowshipping with Chaplain Brad and the men who serve there.  There were two highlights of our visit to the Ranch House, first of all we got to see a small alligator that had been caught and we held it and were awed by it, secondly Chaplain Brad’s baby boy came over with his mama for a visit. 

After dinner we went for a tour of the prison and saw a beautiful sunset and was once again reminded of what an awesome God we serve.  I believe that God has once again demonstrated His power through this trip in a wonderful way.  He has impressed on me what a great and mighty God we serve. 

I have been able to stand in awe of Him as both Creator and Savior.  I pray that God will give you all experiences such as these to impress on you His greatness.  Remember that these opportunities come along as we serve Him.  Because of Him, Pastor

Wow what a great day!!!  God blessed so much.  After a night of thunderstorms the clouds rolled away and the sun shined brightly on the prison in Cottonport.  While we did not have as many kids as originally hoped for, things were still special. 

The fair ran very well.  The fathers had a great time.  But best of all kids were saved.  At the end of the day a survey was taken of the dads.  35 dads shared the gospel with their kids and 40 trusted Christ as Savior.  That makes it all worth it.  I rejoice with angels at that news. 

We leave tomorrow for Angola and will head home Monday.  I look forward to seeing George and the other Malachi dads at Angola.  I'll be praying for all back at FVBC tomorrow, pray for me as well.  Because of Him, Pastor.

We have had a great day.  God is at work at Avoyelles.  The Malachi Dads program is great and all f the men are exited about the kids coming tomorrow.  We were busy today, getting unloaded, setting up, making last minute runs and ending our day in a great worship service with some of the men.

These days energize me.  I am so excited about what God is doing.  We serve a great and mighty God who does miracles in lives every day.  Tonight one of the Angola chaplains told a story about how a prisoner at Angola was saved because his daughter who came to Returning Hearts last year was concerned her daddy didn't know Christ.  She asked the chaplain to share Christ with him and he trusted Christ.  She hadn't seen her daddy in 12 years is so excited that he knows Christ now.  She will be attending Bible College next year too. 

God is at work.  The question is are we working with Him or against Him. Some of us say well I'm just not working, shame on you.  God's work is too important to sit on the sidelines.  He is too great not to serve.  Because of Him, Pastor.

Hi Friends, we all arrived safely in LA last night about 7 or so.  21 hours of driving all night.  We were exhausted, a little gamey and punchy but safe and sound.  After a short rest we are getting ready to head over to the prison to meet with the inmates for training this morning, to set up and then we'll have a service tonight with the dads and volunteers.  That is always one of my favorite times.

On a personal note, it is really great to have my son Joe along on this trip.  I always enjoy sharing my ministry with kids.  I believe that one of the greatest things we can do for our children is to allow them to see us minister and be involved with us in ministry and pass along a passion for serving our Savior.

Pray for me, Joe, Paul and Rebekah as we serve.  Because of Him, Pastor.