Monday, December 8, 2008

Wild, Wacky, Weird, and Wonderful Weekend



What a wild wacky weird and wonderful weekend it was. Seems like there were about two weekends crammed into one.


Friday evening we went to see the annual Mena Christmas Parade. There was a good turnout to see the parade. It was quite cool, and really felt like winter was on the way. It is always fun to see how many people you know who are in the parade. Last year I drove the truck pulling the Relay For Life float. That really isn't that much fun, and you miss seeing the parade. We didn't stay for the fireworks show, but we were able to see some of them from our house.

Mt. Ida SDA Church
MT. IDA SDA CHURCH

Saturday morning I had been invited to speak at the Mt. Ida SDA Church. I arrived at the church as Sabbath School was starting. The special music was beautiful, and I just happened to have my camera with me. The video below is of Keith and Karyn Haley singing Go Tell It On The Mountain.



I have studied the history of the Bible for many years, and have collected old Bibles and Bible pages dating back to the 1400's. I was asked to give a presentation on the topic. I brought a number of the Bible pages, and a complete Bible from the early 1800's. As I was about to close the presentation, a member of the audience started disrupting the service and arguing against some of the history I had presented. I was shocked and bewildered. I didn't know how to handle the situation. I responded only briefly in a sentence or two. Someone from the church stopped him, and we closed the service. I was happy to find out that the disruptor was not a member, and most likely had come for the purpose of making trouble. The members were very apologetic, and really enjoyed the presentation and looking at the old Bible pages.

Mt. Ida SDA Church 2

After church I was invited to a great potluck dinner, and spent a couple of wonderful hours with the church members. I stayed so long that I was late getting home. Gina had not gone with me because she was teaching her Sabbath School Class in Mena. She had planned on taking a hike with her friends Deanna and Laurel. I went to the trail they were hiking, and caught up with them as they were returning. I still had a very nice hike even if it wasn't as long as theirs. It was an absolutely beautiful day to hike.

Fall near Mena Arkansas
WINTER WOODS NEAR MENA

Saturday night we went to Laurel's house to play cards. Her daughter Talena and family have recently moved to Mena and are staying with her. Laurel showed me Talena's blog, Winters Day In several month ago and that is how I got introduced to blogging. I had met Talena and her husband Jason earlier, but it was the first time i had met her boys. Gina and Noah really took a shine to each other. We had a great time learning a new card game called Wizard.


THE WINTERS FAMILY, TALENA, JASON, JABIN, JUDE, AND NOAH

Sunday morning I was out of the house and on the road by 7:30. I needed to make a trip to Keene, Texas where Gavin is going to school to take my Buick to him, and bring back home his Kia. Gavin and the Kia were in a fender bender on his way back to school after the Thanksgiving holiday. I needed to get the Kia so I can have it fixed by the time Gavin comes home for Christmas.

Kia Krash
GAVIN'S KIA

As I was driving along I was listening to some new recordings that my friend Richie Owens had given to me. I like to know what he is up to . I listened to the new songs several times. I really like the song that he wrote, "My Lord". I have heard him sing it a number of times, but never heard a recording. I thought I would share it with you.

MY LORD by RICHIE OWENS

As I was driving along listening to Richie sing, my phone rang. Gavin was on the other end. He wanted to know where i was so he would know what time to meet me. He also had a problem. A group of kids from the University had taken the bus to Six Flags. When they returned to the school, Gavin couldn't find his keys. He had to sleep in a friends room for the night, because he not only had no car keys, he had no keys to his apartment. He was going to try to call the bus driver and see if the keys were still on the bus. What are we going to do know. I thought. How can I pick up his car with no keys. It will be a 12 hour trip without any problems. I sure don't need the expense of a locksmith or the extra time it is going to take. As i was driving along, I was praying. Lord, please let Gavin find the keys. I know the odds are against finding them on the bus, but please let them be there.

Keys
GAVIN'S KEYS

Believe it or not, the keys were on the bus. Gavin called to say that the bus driver had found them, and he was on his way to go pick up the keys. "Thank you Lord" I prayed, "Thank you for caring about things as small as keys". The rest of the day was uneventful. I visited with Gavin just long enough to get a Subway sandwich. We only had a few minutes before he had to go to work. The drive back took a little longer because I was only able to drive 60 mph or so. If I drove faster, the damaged hood would flutter and make me nervous. The last hour and a half of my trip was in the dark, and the one headlight that worked was shining very low. I was happy and relieved to make it home.

So how was your weekend? Was it Wild Wacky Weird and Wonderful?

8 comments:

  1. Snowing on your blog! That is really cool.

    You needed courage for some of the stories here, glad you found it.

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  2. How interesting. There will always be protesters. I am glad you had such a great recovery : ). I love pot lucks. Aren't people delightful? I am glad the keys were found. What a blessing!

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  3. This is again a nice post, Richies. I liked to read every sentence. :) Thanks for sharing your weekend.

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  4. Glad everything worked out right for Galvin. Thanks for sharing your wonderful weekend with us. I have a nice time enjoying my weekend. Friday ...a very beautiful wedding and sunday with siblings and family with a simple home cooked food and lots of snacks.:) We were planning our next gathering on Christmas Day. Looking forward to christmas.

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  5. Nothing gets things stirred up like a heckler in the audience....

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  6. When I worked in the Christian bookstore I found it interesting the reaction some people had towards certain Bible Translation.

    Did you have drive through Dallas only being able to go 60?

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  7. Sounds like a busy day. I didn't expect to see my family over here!

    I hope you have a great day today, too!

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