Let it rain. Let it rain. Let it rain. Let it rain, let it pour! The words to that worship song are very appropriate right now. This country is experiencing a big hurt! I have decided to put aside 7:00am each morning for prayer on this subject. If two or more would like to pray with me at that time, perhaps the Lord will take pity on us and send us a much needed rain.

I went by to visit Candi Lewis last week. Russ was correct; it was Candi who had the back surgery. Tami is still scheduled, but postponed her visit until later. Candi’s surgery was not exactly planned. She woke up with a severe migraine and walking problems. Jason immediately took her to the doctor. Tests revealed leaking spinal fluid – which caused the migraine, and disc problems. Candi says she is doing fine, but has to be laid up for a while. Here it is dog hot and she is not allowed to swim! To top it off, the day I went to visit, her AC had gone out. She was covered by a blanket, and the fan wasn’t on, so it was pretty toasty. Candi gave me the clue to her issue when she said she was lying on a bag of ice! There was no ice for the rest of us, so I hope the AC man arrived shortly after I left! Our prayers are with you Candi, as you recover from this operation.

Rob and Kathy Brockman ran over to Gatesville on Sunday to attend the baptismal service for their granddaughter. Kathy brought all three girls back for vacation Bible school. The theme this year is Kickin’ it Old School. The songs are old standards like Sweet Salvation Story; I’m a Soldier in the Army of the Lord, and the Old Rugged Cross. They are peppy and rowdy and lots of fun! We had 36 kids on Sunday evening. Since there was a play day going on at the same time, we were missing a few kids. So Monday will be slightly higher. Brooklyn and Brennan McGinty performed a skit at the end of our session, and I have to tell you those are two talented young people. They have several more to do, so they’ll have to work to beat performance number one! We all thanked Jessica and Pam Starr for our neat VBS shirts. Deanna Grady, Antonia Valdez and Brittany Bush are the floating helpers. Bev Cohn is not here this year, but Mrs. Fikes, Mrs. Hyman handled the food. The directors are Mike and Debbie Phelan. Margaret Parks Connor and her husband attended our first session. Margaret graduated with Donna Hill and lived out at Locker. Kay and Gerald McKee are running the Bible lesson classes. Kathy and Pam are using the helpers to get the crafts completed in timely fashion. Jessica and Mrs. Beatrice Soto are corralling the pre-schoolers. We’re all looking forward to a lively week at VBS.

Bonnie Burkhart is at home recovering from surgery. They tell me Junior Moreno is doing better. Frank Green wrote to say thank you for the prayers; he is feeling better. Joey Hardman is on the mend, and Paul Gibson is headed to the doctor’s office to get an update. Bonnie Evans will be headed to the doctor’s office for some tests. She also wanted everyone to know that Judy Barr, Dr. Locklear’s nurse is retiring and they are giving her a retirement party. They were hoping that anyone that has been treated by this office would go by and wish her well. You will have to call Bonnie or Dr. Locklear’s office for more details.

I didn’t get any reports from Carol regarding the Play Day that went on Sunday. We dropped a few kids off at the arena, and it was still going on strong. I know they take extra care during hot weather. Both the animals and the people are subject to heat stroke. It doesn’t take long for organs to shut down once the body overheats.

I think many of us watched the accident at the Ball Park in Arlington. What a horrendous ending to what started as a special family outing. There is a trust fund set up with the Brownwood Fire Department for this fallen firefighter’s family. The Ranger’s Organization has also set up a trust fund to help the family cover expenses. Our prayers go out to this family and all who were touched by this sad event.

Rumors are flying around town. As we all know, we were so busy trying to pass or defeat the school bond on the ballot; we forgot to pay attention to the liquor by the drink proposition. This passed and nary a squawk was heard from the Christian citizens. Now we are about to be faced with two liquor establishments. I was poo- pooed when I warned we would have issues with this. Now I’m told a man out of Austin is looking at buying James’ place to use it for a tavern/bar, and Centex Feeds is going to open up a beer barn. That’s the last thing this poor little town needs by way of business. Someone told me it would bring revenue in to the town, but at what cost? Pornography is big business too. Does that mean we want revenue from that kind of business? Where do we draw the line? In this case, we failed to draw the line when the issue came up for adoption. I guess that means shame on us. We can’t pass a bond election, but we can pass something that will harm our children. Some one go figure out the logic in that if you can! I guess the police department will get to work a little harder; as if they don’t already work hard enough.

I hope everyone has a blessed week. If you have time, remember 7:00am prayer time, wherever you may be. Please pray for rain, for our country, our President and our precious troops and their families. May God please forgive our indifference and heal our land.