First Impressions

Recently, a group of observers came to our community and shared their perceptions. Our town agreed to participate in the “First Impressions” program offered by the Mississippi State Community Action Team. The process is designed to capture the thoughts and feelings of visitors as they encounter a community for the first time.

I was pleased to hear that they were impressed by the care of the local churches. They stated “The churches in the community stood out as an exceptional part of the town. They were nice and clean, had well-manicured grounds, and were freshly painted.”

On the other hand, the observers noted the presence of many empty buildings. A challenge for any community in Mississippi is to decide on how to address “eyesores,” especially rundown buildings. Some towns have placed fake fronts on abandoned structures to give the appearance that the property is being utilized, while in actuality the site is vacant.

First impressions are important, but we have all experienced great disappointment when we discovered our initial feelings about a person, place, or product were wrong. Generally, realities are not gathered from a casual glance. We have to look deeper for the truth.

As we hold Revival Services, September 30-October 3, I pray we will not be content with looking on what is on the surface. At this time, many positive comments are being made by our church. Praise God! However, each of us must examine our lives and deal with what is really in our hearts.

Our Revival Preacher for the services is Keith Manuel, who ministers in the Evangelism Dept. of the Louisiana Baptist Convention. He has a Ph.D. in preaching and is a genuinely nice guy. Leading our music is John Yates, who is one of the most talented men I know. John is a ventriloquist and he plays the trumpet. People of all ages will enjoy John. You will be blessed by these men. Please attend these special services.

In closing, may we all remember “the Lord does not see as man see; for man looks at the outward appearance, but the LORD looks at the heart (I Sam. 16:7).

Adoptions Finalized

Today, around 10 AM, Judge Randy "Bubba" Pierce signed the orders for us to officially adopt Charlee and Jared. Praise God. We are so thrilled. Thanks to everyone who has been praying for us.

Judge to Sign Adoption Papers

I made the drive to Jackson, MS this morning and was given the "Adoption Packets" for both of our foster, soon-to-be-adopted, kids. Then, I delivered the paperwork to our attorney.

Tomorrow morning, we are to be at the Greene County Court House and our good friend Judge Randy "Bubba" Pierce is supposed to sign the petition to adopt Jared and Charlee. I'll feel a great relief when the paperwork is "official." God has truly blessed us.

Adoption Closer

Today, I drove to Jackson, MS and picked up the "Adoption Packets" for Charlee and Jared. Then, I hand delivered them to our attorney. Looks like the petitions can be signed tomorrow. We can't wait to get the adoptions finalized. God is good.

Article Written by Keith Manuel

Keith Manuel, the preacher for our revival Sept. 30-Oct3, has an excellent article on Baptist Press entitled "Don't Let Buildings Blur Your Vision." Read it here.

In the article, Keith shares about an encounter he had with a waitress. Keith tries to make an impact for Christ with everyone he meets. I can't wait to hear him preach.

Keith and I attended college and seminary together. God used Keith and his church on the "West Bank" of the Mississippi River to minister to thousands of folks following Hurricane Katrina. Presently, he is serving in the Evangelism Department of the Louisiana Baptist Convention.

Update on Adoption

Well, we were told this morning that Jared's adoption paperwork was found. However, it doesn't look like we will be able to get the Adoption Packet by Friday to finalize the adoptions. Miracles still happen. So, we haven't given up yet.

A Time to Vent

My posts have always been inspirational, generally. However, at this midnight hour, I feel the need to express some frustration.

Terri, my wonderful wife, and I have been foster parents since May 2005. Abbey, our daughter, was born in Anchorage, AK in Jan. 1994. We were unable to have anymore children. (In 1998, we experienced a miscarriage.) So, we had accepted the fact we would not have anymore children. Basically, I was content with one child. However, Abbey kept praying for a baby brother or sister. Almost nightly she would pray, "God, if you want us to have a baby in our family, we will gladly accept it."

So, in the Spring of '05, we enrolled in the Foster-to-Adopt Program through the Dept. of Human Services in Jackson Co., Mississippi. We were shocked at how quickly a child was placed in our home.

In the Summer of '04, we were blessed to have Jared (2 yrs-old at the time) placed in our home. He is a beautiful boy and he has greatly enriched and entertained us. In the Summer of '05, Charlee (5 mo.-old) was placed in our care. She has experienced major developmental delays, but she has gained a lot of ground in the last year. My wife is incredible with the kids. Abbey is a super big sister.

The process to adopt both of the children has been a long one. Many obstacles have been faced, but we have been patient.

On Sept. 14, we were told by our Adoption Specialist that both of the children were free to be adopted and their "Adoption Packets" were complete. So, we contacted an attorney and he wrote the appropriate letter to have the packets sent to him. Then, we were told, all we needed was for petitions to be signed by a judge and both of the children would be "Prices" officially. The attorney made the request on Sept. 14.

Since the law office had not received the packets, we were worried, but not too concerned. Then, today, we received a call from the Adoption Specialist who came to our home.

The "Adoption Packet" for Jared is lost. Unbelievable. They cannot locate his papers that contain the "Termination of Parental Rights" and the "Permission to Adopt" Form. We were anticipating having the Petitions for both of the children signed on Friday, Sept. 28, but if Jared's packet isn't found, we will have to go back to the Attorney Generals Office to "redo" a portion of the process. This is what we were told.

We are still in it for the long haul, but things like this really upset me. How can a State Agency not track such important papers. This is a child's life that is on hold.

On October 6, whether the adoptions are final or not, we are going to have an Adoption Celebration at the church I pastor. We will have a Dedication Service for our family and a reception, complete with inflatables for the kids.

So, I'm praying that tomorrow we'll get a call indicating the papers were found and we will be able to proceed with finalizing the adoptions on Friday, Sept. 28.

I haven't cursed yet, but I'm tempted to (as Evangelist Junior Hill has said) write a curse word on a piece of paper and sign my name to it!

I feel a little better. So, much for my first effort at self-disclosure and transparency in the blogosphere. Good Night.

Praying for R.E.V.I.V.A.L.

During our Mid-Week Prayer Service, we have been praying for our Revival Services, September 30-October 3. I've used the following acrostic to guide our prayer time. I will be examining these in more detail in the upcoming week.

Pray we will experience the following.

Repentance (Isaiah 57:15)

Evangelization (Matthew 28:16-20)

Vision (Proverbs 29:18)

Invitations to all people (Luke 14:7-14)

Victory (I John 5:4-5)

Awareness of God’s Holiness (Is 6:1-8)

Love (1 John 2:9-11)

"I Am" and 9/11

Charles Swindoll, in his book Laugh Again, shared a poem by Helen Mallicoat:

I was regretting the past
And fearing the future…
Suddenly my Lord was
speaking:
“MY NAME IS I AM” He paused.
I waited. He continued.
“WHEN YOU LIVE IN THE PAST,
WITH ITS MISTAKES AND REGRETS,
IT IS HARD. I AM NOT THERE.
MY NAME IS NOT "I WAS."

WHEN YOU LIVE IN THE FUTURE,
WITH ITS PROBLEMS AND FEARS,
IT IS HARD. I AM NOT THERE.
MY NAME IS NOT "I WILL BE."

WHEN YOU LIVE IN THIS MOMENT,
IT IS NOT HARD.
I AM HERE.
MY NAME IS "I AM."