Thanksgiving in South Carolina

We spent Thanksgiving in South Carolina. I didn't get a picture of Thelma; she said no and I obliged. Cheryl’s cousins Wayne and Timmy Turner (her Aunt Dot’s sons) were there. Glenda, April and Zachary came. Cheryl’s cousin Becky Merritt also came (pictured here between Cheryl and Glenda).

More Pictures

Special Visit

Alethea, Camdyn, and Charlie stopped over tonight on their way to Washington, D.C.. Justin is coming later tonight. They will leave tomorrow. Doug and Joyce Slocumb came over to show the children their new teacup chihuahua, Peanut. Charlie learned how to jump tonight.

A Story for Camdyn and Charlie

When I was Young My Mother Sang Me to Sleep
Jackie David Johns
(Papa)

For
Camdyn and Charlie


Every night just as the sun went down we took our bath. I was three and Shirley was four. We played together in the water as momma scrubbed us clean.

After our bath she took us to the front porch and we sat on the swing. Shirley was on my mother’s right side and I was on her left side.

“Look for the first star you see tonight,” my mother would say.

Gently we moved back and forth listening to the squeak of the chains and listening to our mother tell stories of her childhood.

“Are you looking for the first star?” she would ask as we sunk our heads into her lap and she began to hum.

Then with excitement she would squeal, “I see it, I see it. Do you see the star?”

“Where? Where? Where?” We asked.

“I see it. I see it. I see it.” One of us would shout.

Where? Where? Where? The other asked.

“Oh, there! I see it, too.”

Star Light
Star Bright
First Star I See Tonight
I Wish I May
I Wish I Might
I Have A Wish
I Wish Tonight

“Did you make your wish?” Momma asked. “Don’t tell anyone or it won’t come true.”

Then she began to sing.

Jesus loves me! this I know,
For the Bible tells me so.
Little ones to Him belong;
they are weak but He is strong.

Yes, Jesus loves me!
Yes, Jesus loves me!
Yes, Jesus loves me!
The Bible tells me so.

***
Amazing Grace, how sweet the sound,
That saved a wretch like me.
I once was lost but now am found,
Was blind, but now I see.

T'was Grace that taught my heart to fear.
And Grace, my fears relieved.
How precious did that Grace appear
The hour I first believed.

Through many dangers, toils and snares
I have already come;
'Tis Grace that brought me safe thus far
and Grace will lead me home.

When we've been here ten thousand years
Bright shining as the sun.
We've no less days to sing God's praise
Than when we've first begun.

She would shift in and out of words, humming a while and singing a while, slowly, getting softer until we were asleep.

Sometimes, I would wake up ever so slightly when I felt my father lifting me up into his arms to carry me to my bed.

I felt good. I felt safe. My mother loved me. My father loved me. God loved me. And the world was a magical place.

Sunday at New Covenant

We had a good day at church. Cheryl preached this morning on the healing of the 10 lepers, with emphasis on the one (a Samaritan) who returned to give thanks. We had our annual Thanksgiving love feast this evening. I didn't count but there was clearly over one hundred present. New Covenant is a wonderful fellowship of saints who are "walking together in the way of Christ."

Youth Bon Fire

We had the youth, their families, and the youth workers over for a bon fire this evening. It was a great time for us.

New Covenant Web Site

Our church has had a web site for quite some time. In recent months Michael Pogue, our web master, has completely redesigned it. The revisions are still in progress, but I wanted to say thanks to Michael for all of his hard work. Michael volunteers his time and allows us to piggy back on his server.

You may find the site interesting. It includes a number of resources, including recent sermons at New Covenant. [Cheryl will be preaching this coming Sunday.] Pages for Children's Ministry, Youth Ministry, and the Worship Team are being added.

If you have ever been a member of our congregation, please sign up as a member of the site. This will provide you a number of additional resources and allow you to participate in threaded discussions. Our hopes are that this will replace our Facebook Group page which hasn't gotten a lot of traffic, but thanks to everyone who has participated. Facebook will remain up for the foreseeable future.

www.newcovenantchurchofgod.net

We were pleased to have Frank and Renae Bowman and Lisa St. Marie for Sunday lunch. Frank is currently a student at the Seminary. He and Renae have served for many years as pastors. About four years ago Frank became blind and Renae attends most of his classes with him. Lisa is a graduate of the Seminary. She is an Ordained Church of God Minister and a registered nurse. She directs our parish nurse program. We enjoy having all three at New Covenant.

For Camdyn & Charlie

New Natural Color

Advent Planning in the Fall

It is fall at our house and so I include a couple of scenic pictures from here.

We had some of our worship leaders over for lunch today to help plan for Advent. Cheryl directs all of our special services. Vernice Blackaby is our children's pastor; Carrie Walls leads our worship and drama team (Karusso - Greek for "proclaiming" or "preaching"); Kemuel Gardner is our Worship Pastor and his wife, Jolanda, serves on the dance/drama team.

Bipartisan Couple

There is not much to report on election night.

Cheryl did speak in chapel at Tennessee Wesleyan College in Athens, Tennessee today.

Happy Birthday Camdyn

Today is Camdyn's fifth birthday. Cheryl left for Memphis a little while ago. I was going to drive over after my class tomorrow, but my truck is in the shop and won't get out in time for the trip.

Good People

Today was a good day at the Seminary. We inducted Dr. Hollis Gause into the Hall of the Prophets and named the administration building after him. Dr. Gause began teaching Bible and theology at Lee University in 1947. He was a guiding force in Lee's original accreditation and later the transition to a four year liberal arts college serving as Academic Dean. In 1975 he was the founding Dean and Director of the Church of God Graduate School of Christian Ministry (now Church of God Theological Seminary). He continues to serve as an active faculty member at the Seminary. As his pastors, Cheryl and I were asked to participate in the honors. What an honor for us.
















We had an overnight visitor last evening, Juanita Brownlow. I first met Juanita and her late husband, Lamar, in Guatemala City, Guatemala about twenty years ago. They were missionaries in Central America at the time. I was teaching an intensive course at a Church of God Bible college. (Alethea made the trip with me.) Juanita, ever an intense, enthusiastic, visionary student, with Lamar came to the Seminary and completed degrees; Juanita focused on Discipleship and Christian Formation under Cheryl and myself. They then spent some time ministering in Russia and as Overseer for the Church of God in Italy. In recent times Juanita has been widowed and battled cancer. Next week she is moving to Africa to serve as a missionary.

Doctor of Ministry Class

Last week Cheryl and I taught a Doctor of Ministry class, Leading Worship and Discipleship. The classes met 8 to 5. It was a great group of students, eight in total. We of course had to rotate in and out some in order to teach our regular classes. Also, Cheryl was out one day with a virus.

D.Min. students are on campus for two weeks, most spend a few extra days for research. During that time we have a lot of extra work with them during lunch and evenings. I am advising several students through their programs including their projects and dissertations. Last week I participated in two juries for students to defend their project designs. Needless to say it was a very long but rewarding week.

Today, we had glorious worship services. The heaviness of God's presence was with us. Thanks be to God.

Apple Festival Fall Visits

We had wonderful visits from Karisa, Alethea, Camdyn and Charlie over the weekend. We went to the local Apple Festival on Saturday and to church on Sunday. Our dear friend Stanley Lane (bottom photo) also came to town for the weekend. He lives in Dothan Alabama and took time on Saturday to run a 10K on signal mountain.

Time Flies

I would like to delude myself into thinking people might be interested in the routine of my life. Humor me.

Last Friday I taught my class in the morning, worked in the office all afternoon, left work a little early and drove to Hixon Tennessee to attend a Perry Stone revival service with my brother, his wife, and her father. On Saturday I drove down to Cartersville, Georgia to spend the afternoon with the young adults from our church who were on a retreat. Before leaving town I had stopped by the flooring store to pick up samples for the church and on the return I stopped by a hospital in Chattanooga for a pastoral visit. Sunday was church with a church conference before the evening service. Monday was spent in faculty meetings all day (8:15 to 4:30), including lunch. Cheryl left for Atlanta last evening. I put out a roll of hay for the horses and cows. Today, I taught Cheryl's class, tried to catch up at work with a hospital visit and allergy shots thrown in. This evening I moved the cows and horses to the wooded area to keep them from over grazing the pasture and I walked the fence looking for where it might be grounded (it turns out the problem is a bad fuse). Tomorrow, I'm driving down to Atlanta to hear Cheryl's second lecture. Thursday I'll teach Cheryl's class and Cheryl comes home. Friday I will teach my class and Karisa, Alethea, Camdyn, and Charlie arrive.

I do exercise first thing every morning for thirty to forty minutes. I typically have cheerios for breakfast except on Saturdays when I usually fix pancakes. I occasionally write for my blog, read for work, grade papers, work on accreditation reports, have staff meetings, have deacons meetings, have elders meetings, do pastoral counseling, attend community meetings, etc. My current favorite project is developing some Bible studies for families. The first is an expansion of a catechism I first wrote before Alethea was baptized and the second will before families with younger children. My goal is to develop these for online use, but they will first appear on a blog.

Family Visit

This weekend we were blessed to have a visit from my brother, Jimmy, his wife, Iris, and her father, Raymond Newman.

Guests

Cheryl came home Monday evening. We have had a couple of guests this week, Katherine Knoke was with us Monday evening and Larry McQueen was here all week. Katherine and her husband, Derek, were youth pastor's at New Covenant and she now commutes to Cleveland to teach a course at the Seminary. She and Larry are working on their Ph.D.'s. Larry, who was a very active member at New Covenant, comes a couple of times a year from his home in Texas for research and writing.

September Update

September is rapidly coming to an end. It has been a very full month. The first ten days were lost in an accreditation report. The following ten days or so were given to writing follow-up reports to the Seminary administration and trying to catch up on other Seminary work and church work. I took a little time to purge my system by starting a new blog.

For the last nine days Cheryl has been in a cabin in North Carolina writing her lectures for the Smythe Lecture Series that she will present at Columbia Theological Seminary in a couple of weeks. She did drive home for a committee meeting today. And she will pack up and come home later tonight or tomorrow morning. I drove over on two ocassions to enjoy an evening meal, a walk with her through the forest, and just listen to the sounds of nature. She has been in a beautiful and restful location with a stream rushing by just beneath the deck.

New Blog

For those who might be interested I have started a new blog Jackie Speaks, where I will express my thoughts. It will be all words and no pictures. My first essay is on why I am a Republican.