Sunday has arrived, the tomb is empty and the holiest of all Christian holidays has come to an end. Yet, this is not the end, but the beginning of who we are as Christians. This act of love by Jesus has given the pathway to heaven to all who believe in his Deity.
It's just the start of the path. We must as Christians, study to know more about this humble shepherd/God, who sacrificed his life for us. It's a gift we don't deserve, it's not one we can earn, and it's an awesome gift that offers everlasting life. Everything that has great value should be prized and cared for in any way we can. Yet how many of us do the one and done covid thing? We walked forward and pledge our allegiance and belief in Jesus as son of God, and then let our faith rot in neglect. What value do we place on this saving grace?
Is it more precious than silver, more costly than gold? The psalmist thought so, and so should we. I encourage all my fellow Christians to walk daily in their faith and learn more about this awesome Savior who loves enough to die a horrible death.
On another plane, Ronald Reagan declared, "We have every right to dream heroic dreams. There are no easy answers, but there are simple answers. We must have the courage to do what we know is morally right.
"Our time is now…If we carry the day and turn the tide, we can hope that as long as men speak of freedom and those who have protected it, they will remember us, and they will say, here were the brave and here their place of honor."
Reagan also spoke, "No weapon in the arsenals of the world is so formidable as the will and moral courage of free men and women." We must stand as Christians and Americans for the precious freedoms that were bought with the blood of those who have gone on before us. We must not remain silent while our way of life erodes out from under our very feet. We must stand for what is right, or we stand for nothing at all.
We had a delightful but rather brisk outdoor service Sunday morning. The kids and parents gathered at the park around 9:30 a.m., and the race for eggs was on! There were about 21 kids gathering several hundred colorful eggs. The egg hunt was followed by donuts, coffee, and juice under the Tabernacle. Thank you to the Guillory family for dozens of delicious donuts. Juice was provided by the Brockman family and Fred Overstreet proved he is the number one coffee maker. Church members arranged the benches on Saturday morning so there were plenty of seats for those who came to worship. The trio of guitar players leant an old-time flavor to our outdoor service. Richland Springs is known for its brisk winds, and Sunday morning was no exception. I hope those of you who would not or could not brave the chilly air were able to attend online with Shiloh and First Baptist. All in all, it was a wonderful Sunday service. I went home and cuddled up under a blanket to revive my poor freezing bones. Praise God, the Son has risen.
I am please to say that Richland Springs did finish the UIL district competition in first place as a school. We are sending 16 students on to regionals. I attribute this win to several factors. The first is that we have been in school for most of this school year. The second is the diligence and hard work of our teachers and students.
Typically, Richland never has enough students to overtake the larger schools, and we seldom take first place as a school. This year the bigger schools were in virtual school much longer than we were. I think that is a third factor for our blessing. Based on my experience, it has taken me until the last few weeks to get my students into full stride for learning and working. I can only imagine the damage that is being done to students around the world, who have been out of class for a year. Now students across Texas are being asked to take weeks out of teaching time to submit to STAAR testing. I'm sure it's so the powers that be, can calculate the educational loss this pandemic has taken. I don't have a problem with that; I just wish we could limit the tests to two simple tests, completed in two days. We will continue to teach our students, support them in any way we can, and fulfill our duties as loving teachers.
We are heading into the busy school months of April and May. The school calendar is getting very full. Teachers have an allday training on April 19th, so Monday Church will have to be cancelled.
Four of the seven people who work with the kids are school staff.
There may be one Monday in May of teacher training as well. Otherwise, Monday Church is good to go. Tuesday, May 4th, will be the 8th grade luncheon at the Baptist Church, and Tuesday, May 11th, will be the senior luncheon at the Baptist Church. I have heard that the Christian Church will hold the Baccalaureate again this year, but I don't have a date yet. Graduation will be at the First Baptist Church on May the 28th. Hold on to your hats; we are entering the last seven weeks of school. Praise God we have been able to stay in person.
Gerald McKee was care flown to MD Anderson at the end of last week. Our prayers have been lifted for his healing and safe return. Kay and Gerald are precious members of this community. We have good reports from Amber, Danny Phillips and several others who have been fighting cancer. We have many suffering seasonal allergies thanks to all those beautiful oak trees that are putting on their tassels. Please keep our kids in your prayers, our elderly and our home bound as well. Our President and Congress need a boatload of prayers. Our police officers are under the fiercest attack I have seen in all my many years of living. Most of all pray for our precious troops and their families.
God bless you and your family, and may God please bless our thirsty land with another soaking rain.