A Hero's Reward

In a day when there are very few real heroes, I heard a story about one. His name is John Cook, and he has gone home to his eternal reward. Ever since I have been in Decatur, I have heard about this godly man, about all the things he does for people and organizations -- how he prays with his employees and ministers constantly. But what impressed me most was a story I heard about Mr. Cook on Wednesday. Literally, he was on his death bed, knowing he would soon leave this life but not aware that he had only a matter of days. A dear friend walked into his room and saw Mr. Cook holding the hand of his nurse. Not knowing what was happening, he quietly exited the room to come back later. When he did, he found them still sitting there, holding hands, with tears in their eyes. Mr. Cook looked at his friend and then said to the nurse, "Why don't you tell him what just happened to you?" The nurse looked at this man and said, "Mr. Cook just led me to Jesus." On his death bed, John Cook was concerned about the spiritual well-being of a woman he didn't even know. What a hero!

I know that I may not have all the details of the story correct; it may not have happened exactly like I have written it. Tales like this sometimes take on a life of their own, but everything I know about John Cook leads me to believe that even if the details aren't correct, the story is true. As I reflected on this story, all I could do was pray and ask God to make me a soul-winner like John Cook. I know that he wouldn't want people to consider him a hero, but in my mind, he is.

February is Romance Month

Well, what more can I say. The month of February is filled with hearts and love and Valentines. So why shouldn't it be about the second most important relationship in our lives: our spouses. Last week we focused on becoming best friends with our spouses. Isn't it funny how we sometimes get married and then prefer to spend time with other people? I guess funny isn't the right word for it. It really is sad, at least to me. I can't imagine not spending my time with Sonya. That doesn't mean she has to watch science fiction movies with me all the time, but she does watch them a lot. Just like I watch HGTV with her. We do spend a lot of time together, but we also are comfortable doing things alone or with other people, too.

Today we focused on communication. As important as it is to be best friends, it is just as important to communicate with our best friend. When we first meet, it's like we don't have enough time to say everything that's on our minds. But after we've been married for any length of time, we don't have enough things to say to fill up all our time. So we read the newspaper or watch television or find other things to occupy our times. It is okay, in fact it's good, to get to the point where you are comfortable with the silences as long as the silent moments don't become the norm.

Some people may wonder why I am spending so much time on this topic when we have a church full of senior adults. It's because we have couples in our church, young and old, who are having problems in their marriages. It's because we have youth who need to hear what it takes to have a godly marriage before they get married. It's because no matter how good your marriage is, there is always room for improvement. I am hoping that the couples in our church will take seriously their role as mentors to couples in need. And don't forget, if you missed the messages, you can listen to them online at www.southsidebaptist.net . Go to audio sermons and scroll down to "Making Good Marriages Great."

We will conclude this series with a special event on Sunday morning, March 1 and then a special viewing of the movie "Fireproof" on Sunday night. You don't want to miss it.

Belize--Final Report

We made it home -- finally. It was a long day yesterday as we waited in the Belize airport and then we waited in the Houston airport. We were a little worried in Belize when one of our team members was pulled out of the line and searched. I know this is a common occurrence, but we were worried because there was a slight situation in which she misappropriated some muffins from the Mennonites. We feared that they had her on video and had sent her picture ahead to the airport to stop her. But all was well. You are probably waiting for the name, but I promised Nikki I wouldn't put it in the blog, so I am going to keep this one anonymous. Oops!

Mark found a friend in the duty free section of the Belize airport, but I think it was because he wanted Mark's watch. Can you believe Mark wouldn't give it to him? Even though there was one Mark could buy for only $4000 U.S. The flights were good, but we had a long layover in Houston. The only problem there was that we couldn't keep Bro. Berry out of the bar. I probably should say that was the closest place he could find to watch the Super Bowl. Gorman pretty much behaved himself, but I think it was because he was tired. He did get some fishing tips from the flight steward during the wait on the tarmac in Houston. We had to wait because of some bad weather, and apparently we had to fly very high to get over and around them.

And when we landed, it was great to see family and friends who came to pick us up. It was an amazing week, but I am so thankful for home. See you all soon.

For more information on the Belize Vo-Tech School, go to http://www.belizevotech.com/ .