GOOD MORNING!  I hope that everyone is doing great and living blessed!  We are going to have a great time of worship and some serious challenge from the Lord this morning, so I hope you are up and getting ready to come spend a little time with your Creator, Savior and Sustainer!

Tonight is Sweet Treat Alley and I wanted to remind everyone that we need candy and treat stop hosts!  (The more the better!)  Thanks to each of you who have already volunteered and thanks to you who will be!  THIS REALLY IS MINISTRY!  And it has the power to REALLY MAKE A DIFFERENCE in someone’s life!

Here are a few reminders for the evening: Don’t forget to bring with you a lawn chair, a bowl/container, and bags of candy to share with all of kids that will be visiting Sweet Treat Alley this year.  The candy that we have been collecting will be used to refill your bowl when you run out.

-Supper for Volunteers     5:15 P.M. We will start serving supper for all volunteers at 5:15 P.M.  You can come through the alley and drop off your chairs and the grab you a bite!

-Treat Stop Hosts and Volunteers In Place     6:00 P.M. We really need two lines and so it is important that we get everyone in place, so that we can make sure we have two fairly even lines.  This takes a little time and maneuvering.

-Sweet Treat Alley Begins     6:30 P.M. Put a big ole smile on your face and let the love of Jesus shine through!  See ministry can be fun!  I want you to know that I am praying for you and we are trusting God to do some wonderful things through this outreach event.  Thanks so much for your prayers, help and ministry!
God Bless, Press On & G3!  (GIVE GOD GLORY!)

I love my daughters!  I have been blessed with two:  Gracie 10 and Hope 5!  I want them to be happy and I do everything that I can to try to help them to discover how to be happy regardless of the circumstances of life.

Today, I took them out shopping.  We were on a mission to find a western belt and belt buckle for Grace and a Halloween shirt for Hope!  Of course, when we started looking at belts for Grace, we also had to try to find one for Hope!  The only problem is the size difference!  We tried on belt after belt!  One would look like it would do the trick and then when we got it on – too big!  Mission Accomplished on the belt for Gracie, but failure on the belt for Hope!

We were then off to another store to try to find the Halloween shirt for Hope.  Again – no luck!  To make matters worse, Hope was getting tired and when she gets tired, she does the silly dance which involves a sequence of rolling around on the floor, something similar to what I remember seeing the Solid Gold dancers do when I was a mere lad!  Of course, we were in Wal-Mart, so it was no big deal, just part of the atmosphere, but this redneck Dad was getting a little frustrated at this point.  We did not find the shirt for Hope – we ran out of time.

On our way back out to the truck, I could feel my nerves about to overload and then I thought about how much I love my girls and my frustration disappeared and my nerves settled and I decided right then and there with my two girls in the parking lot, that I would do the happy dance too!  Got a few weird looks, a couple of grins and a really big smile from a lady missing her front tooth!

In the truck on the way back home, I kept thinking about how I could have lost it!  I wanted to lose it, but I didn’t.  If I had lost it, then I would have missed it!  Missed what?   A very cool experience with my girls.  An experience that helped me to understand that in so many ways they are just like me, the me I used to be, before I became such a serious-minded adult!

What I learned today:  Loosen up!  Enjoy life, have some fun and share some laughs.  Hope you can loosen up, enjoy life, have some fun and share some laughs today!