It’s time for a Sunday Night Update, thank you for checking in with me. We have eight new subscribers since last week, so we roll out the welcome mat for you and appreciate your interest. Feel free to say howdy in the comments, we’re all glad you’re here.
Daylight Savings Time is here and for me that means the availability of longer daylight hours at Black Bayou and other places. Nobody likes losing an hour’s sleep but a lot of people do it regularly. When’s the last time you were binging a series on some streaming service and decided to watch ‘just one more’ episode. Or as I did Friday night, finishing up a murder mystery book that I couldn’t put down until I read the finale. We lose an hour pretty easily and it shouldn’t be hard. Nor should it be forced upon us in an unnecessary and outdated function of the government.
WOODWORKING. I want to share my friend Kyle Ferguson’s woodshop website with you. I don’t get a kickback, but I have one of his hand made bowls and it is beautiful. Check out Kyle’s Woodworking HERE.
Yesterday afternoon a brother from our church texted me to tell me that he was praying for me. Often during the first prayer in worship someone will mention me in their prayer as I am about to get up to preach. I much appreciate every prayer. My first thought, just about every Sunday, is ‘Lord, I can’t do this without you.’ Whatever good is done through my preaching and ministry, the credit all goes to God. The things that don’t go so well are usually me forgetting to lean on the Lord for help! A dear friend and elder in the church at Pascagoula, Jim Ingram, is now with the Lord. He told me once that he prayed for me every day. I’ve never forgotten that.
At FORSYTHE CHURCH we are continuing our journey through Mark’s Gospel. Today was a message about the conflict that Jesus had with the religious leaders. One stepped out of the crowd to ask him what was the most important command. Jesus gave a familiar answer and then said, “you are not far from the kingdom.” On Wednesdays I am continuing a study of the Lord’s Supper. We have about three more lessons in that series.
This morning when it was time for communion, it was a little bit before someone got up to lead us. Each week we get a text from Mark Allred, reminding us of our duties for the coming Sunday (which is very helpful). Sol Graves got up and did the communion service but I could tell that he was just doing so because no one else got up. He did fine, of course, always well spoken and prayerful. So after communion I picked up my phone to see who was supposed to do communion. Yup. It was me. I just sat there wondering who was assigned to do the prayers! When I got up to preach I let everyone know, which gave us all a chance to enjoy a laugh.
ALLIGATORS are fascinating to me and I’ve enjoyed taking their photographs from safe vantage points. Not long ago at Black Bayou I didn’t get the best picture, but to give you an idea of how far away I was, I’ll give you the up close one and the one that reflects where I was in relation to the gator.
In the second picture, you’d have to really zoom in to see the alligator. My Canon SX70hs doesn’t take the kind of photos some of the more elaborate setups do, but it suits my kind of picture taking and I’ve enjoyed using it. It has a 60x optical zoom, which can get me as close as I want to be to some of these beasts! Here are a few I’ve taken from a safe distance (the white gator was at Louisiana Purchase Gardens and Zoo).
READING. I finished the McMurtry and Drake series by Robert Bailey, the last one being The Final Reckoning. This one kind of surprised me at some of the brutal content, but I guess Bailey was trying to let us know how bad the bad guy really was. Another series of his revolves around fictional lawyer Jason Rich. I’ve read one of those in the past and may read the rest in that series at some point. In my Bible reading plan we are going to finish Numbers this week. A reason to rejoice. I also started Cal Newport’s brand new Slow Productivity: The Lost Art of Accomplishment Without Burnout. Honestly, it’s one of those books I bought because someone else was enthused. Maybe that’s FOMO (Fear Of Missing Out) or maybe it’s taking advantage of a good recommendation. Anyway, Chris Anselmo, this one’s on you! The first two chapters were interesting.
WATCHING. The Traitors second season has come to a close, with a promise that another season is on the way. I enjoyed this reality game show (Kind of like a murder mystery party). The ‘celebrities’ were all strangers to me, coming from shows I have never watched like The Bachelor, Big Brother, Survivor, and Real Housewives of wherever. But it was a lot of fun. Alan Cumming was fantastic in both seasons and I hope he will be a part of season three. I will say, without spoilers, that I hated the ending and felt that one of the last contestants was done dirty - and she knew it - but that’s the shakes. This past week we watched the singing shows, American Idol and The Voice. We also watched the movie We Have Always Lived in the Castle. I would label this movie as Gothic, maybe just creepy, but an interesting story.
LISTENING. I started Louise Penny’s A Rule Against Murder. This particular audio book is especially a good experience. There are many French terms and phrases and names that I didn’t quite know how to hear while reading. Now if I could only use them in conversation.
That Blue Jay is from back in the archives. I don’t remember what was happening, but it was in the fig tree that no longer exists in our back yard. The birds and squirrels always beat us to the figs anyway, we never got any. It died in the drought/heat of Summer/Fall 2023.
Hope you have a great week ahead with extra sunshine to do more outdoor chores and work longer and feel like it should be supper time but actually it’s an hour before bedtime. See how blessed we are? In the mean time, as you adjust, work hard, rest well, and stay connected. The world needs you.
I’m just starting listening to A Rule Against Murder as well! These are amazing stories with so much detail to keep track of. I am excited to share that I figured out the last two murderers correctly. This is a totally new found passion for me and it feels good to know I can still find something new to enjoy. Thanks for these recommendations. Lets see who can figure this one out:)
Don't put too much work on Sol, he may forget the next time. Thank you for your writings, may GOD continue to bless you. HAVE A GREAT DAY!