A Hospital stay

On Sunday November 18th I spoke about expressing Thanks to God. You can hear this message with a simple click at http://www.nrnazarene.org/services/services/servicepodcasts.html

You will also hear one of the biggest faux paus (blunder,slip of tongue) that I have made in many years! - I laughed and I know if you listen carefully you will too!

Sharron and I enjoyed a wonderful lunch with friends from North Raleigh following the service and then enjoyed a very restful day at home. As the evening came to a close I went upstairs for bed. Sharron was already asleep and I stepped into the bathroom .... the next thing I remember is seeing Sharron's face staring at me. It was a face of terror! She was calling me and asking me if I knew what had happened. I did not. I experienced a syncope, which means I lost conscienceness. I felt no pain, no after effects and showed no reason for concern. We decided after a visit to www.webmd.com not to be overly concerned but see the doctor next day.

On Monday we arrived at the doctor's office at 3:15 and by 5:00pm I was on my way to the emergency room at REX Hospital in Raleigh. I soon began a regiment of test and was admitted for an overnight stay. If you would like to know more about this I invite you to visit the blog site of my daughter Stephanie and her account of this event.

I want to express appreciation to Roy and Donna Philemon and Phil and Joanie Richards for their quick response to be with Sharron on Monday evening at the hospital. I truly appreciated the call from Pastor Kevin and the visits from Pastor Drew, Pastor Ken and Pastor Brittany.

Tears came to my eyes when my daughters Danielle and Stephanie and my grand daughter Alyse arrived to be with me and Sharron. This evening my son in law - Josh arrived! I love being close to family!

The nurses, and all those who ministered to me at REX were wonderful. As I was being transported in house by gurney one nurse said to me , "Pastor, you know everything is going to be alright!" Later that evening I had the privilege of sharing my testimony with a person as I was taken to my room. As the night nurse ended her shift she made a point of stopping by to thank me for our conversations and remind me that she would be praying for me. Sharron and I had a deep peace that God was in control!

The doctor assigned my case came by to report that all the test showed a normal response. My heart is healthy; my cholesterol count was excellent; and the time of testing and observation was over and I was discharged from the hospital. I am very grateful for the thoughts and prayers from the family of North Raleigh. I am a little embarrassed and sorry for the scare, but I know that God meant it for good and will use this situation.

As I celebrate Thanksgiving this year I am very thankful! I am reminded of some of the passages I shared this past Sunday. They spoke to my heart and soul:

“Sing out your thanks to him; sing praises to our God ...” Psalm 147:7

“Give thanks to the Lord and pray to him.” Psalm 105:1

“Thank the Lord! Praise his name! Tell the world about his wondrous love and how mighty he is!” Isaiah 12:4

These my friends, are trustworthy statements. I'm forever grateful! PR

The Birthday Celebration!

Since my last posting my life has been filled with many blessings. I really enjoyed a special "Daddy - Daughter" date with Danielle as we attended Late Night Catechism in Charlotte. This play has been presented over the last 7 years and is GREAT! I really enjoyed the comments from Danielle about the set design - great pictures were drawn by my daughter! I hope they bring the Christmas Catechism to Charlotte in the near future.

The rest of the weekend was having time with Danielle preparing for the birthday celebration planned on November 1.

Sharron and I spent Thursday Nov. 1 celebrating the 27th birthday of Danielle and Stephanie. I am glad that they let me take their picture. We enjoyed a great meal at the Cheesecake Factory and then opened presents. Sharron and I are blessed to have Danielle and Stephanie in our lives. They have grown into beautiful women who love the Lord. We love them so much! Truly, we are blessed to be their parents.

Sharron and I rushed home in preparation for a big weekend at the church. Sunday Nov. 4th was CHURCH UNDER THE BIG TOP at North Raleigh Church of the Nazarene. The day was a great success as we greeted over 50 new guest to the church! Many people made life changing decisions.

I appreciate the group of guy who worked throughout the night before to prepare the 4 pigs for the annual North Carolina style "pig pickin" Wow - the barbecue was EXCELLENT!

I also appreciate Tom Alsbury, the worship team, the sound and video guys for all their hard work in set up and leading us in worship. This ministry unto the Lord brought glory to God! THANKS... A special note to the pastoral staff at North Raleigh: WOW - you really made it happen! The pastoral staff deserves full credit for a great day of celebration. To see an attendance near 400 and sense the wonderful spirit at the service and meal that followed was a fantastic! People are already anticipating this event for next year.

Today was a new day in establishing my regular schedule in the office. I look forward to establishing a balanced schedule for pastoral ministry. A surprise came this afternoon after I left the office when Dave Joslin called and asked if I would like to join him at a Hurricanes game.

The answer came quickly - YES! The Carolina Hurricanes are the 2005-2006 Stanley Cup Champions! Tonight they beat the Washington Capitals by a score of 5 -0. Wow! Great game. I really enjoyed my first professional hockey game and the friendship of Dave. Thanks -

On Sunday I delivered an evangelistic message - as promised.

I simply explained the concept of salvation described in Romans 10:13 - "Everyone who calls upon the name of the Lord shall be saved."

This my friend is truly a trustworthy statement worthy of our consideration.

If you stop by- please post a comment so I know you checked this out!