I've Moved!

I will no longer be posting on Blogspot or Blogger ... I have a new home. I have moved to WordPress and can be found at: Quest Travels over on the WordPress site. Come see me there sometimes.

Grady, Alabama

Where on earth is Grady, Alabama? Why am I going to these places out in the middle of nowhere? Well, those are both good questions. Let me see if I can answer them for you, and a few others as well.

Where is Grady, Alabama? Grady is just south of Montgomery, Alabama. The church that I was in however, is not in Grady, Grady is just the closets town to where this church is. On top of that, Grady only has about 35 residents. I told the pastor, "You are not out in the boonies, you are on the edge of nowhere."

However, in this little nowhere place, over 80 people gathered from all around to meet on Sunday morning for church, and they continued to come through Wednesday evening.

Now this is what is known as the "deep south". I thought Texans had an accent - Texans don't hold a candle to the Alabamian accent. I thought Texans were rednecks. Okay - a lot of them are! But so are a lot of Alabamian's. Yet, there is something to be said about this simple life. There is nothing like walking out at night and being able to actually see the stars, or to hear the rustling in the woods (which starts just five feet from where you are standing), then see a red fox scurry out in the night looking for something to eat.

Why am I going to these out-of-the-way places? Another good question.

ANSWER: Because people are people. No matter where they are, no matter what their color skin, no matter what their country ... people need the Lord. So I go.

What did I find here? I found a great group of people who love their pastor (who BTW, has been here for over 28 years). I found familes who are struggling, lives that are broken and people who are no different than people in "the big city." I found people who like the quiet of the country, and are willing to drive an hour one way each day to work so they enjoy this peacful area during the off times.

I also found a pastor who has committed his life to reaching people. A man who cares about broken lives and wounded relationships. I found a man who is committed to helping young pastors get their feet on the ground and willing to help them get a new church started from the ground up. In today's world where every other pastor is simply looking for the next church to go to that is going to pay a little more or where he is going to get a little more recognition, in Grady, Alabama (or some place nearby) is a man who just wants to stay put and minister to the people that he can reach out and touch. And touch them is what he is doing.

Several times he pointed out a man or woman and said something to the effect that "He was hooked on meth - but when he got to know Jesus - his life changed." They have started a support group in their church to help the people of the area who are hooked on meth. Meth is the "white man's drug". Even though there are many blacks in Alabama, and racism is still very real (BTW, the blacks of Alabama are just as racist, if not more racist, than the whites - but that is a whole different discussion that heavily revolves around 'The Right Rev. Jessie Jackson' - and I say that with absolutely not respect for the man), Meth is dominately a drug that the white man uses - and it is destroying their lives. Yet there is a little church on the edge of nowhere, with a pastor who has gained the respect of the community who is reaching out to make a difference in their life.

Will I go back to Grady, AL? In a heartbeat! In fact, I am already scheduled to return. I loved these people. They are geunine. There is no pretense in what they do. They just greet you with a smile and a "Howdy" that will melt your heart. Community Baptist Chrurch is just that - a church for the community.

Pumpville, TX

This past month I have been close to home. I preached for Bro. Mike Marcellus in S. Austin the first week, then at my home church the next week. The third week I was in Pflugerville (the "P" is silent for those of you who do not know) then this last week I went to Pumpville, TX.

You may ask - "Where is Pumpville?"

Good question! Pumpville is down my Del Rio. It is about 15 miles for Langtry. Now for you history buffs, you may remember the name "Langtry." The town of Langtry was named after a fair maiden, actually an actress. Yes indeed. For years, she was sent letters by the man know as "The Law West of the Pecos" - That's right, Judge Roy Bean. The "Jersey Lily" was aware she was supposedly the town's namesake - for Judge Roy Bean had been sending her fan letters for years. She couldn't find room in her schedule to visit the town. When her train finally did pull into Langtry - Roy Bean was dead.

But what about Pumpville? Well Pumpville is a ghost town today - literally. There is a church, abandoned school house (complete with the small house the school teacher lived in), the grocery store that is about to literally fall apart and one other house, recently relocated on the property for the purpose of the "traveling pastor" to sleep in on the weekends. THAT'S IT!

Yet on Sunday morning at ten o'clock AM, this ghost town comes to life when anywhere from 10-20 people gather for church. Ranchers from all around begin to make their way to the little church in the ghost town. They will bring enough "viddles" for lunch after church, then when church is over - Pumpville returns to its natural state - a ghost town.

Their pastor travels over three hours one way each week and has for over three years now. Some may think this a bit foolish, yet the nearest church is over fifty miles away. So this gives the ranchers around Pumpville and great place to come to church in a much shorter time. You never know the lasting impact that is going to be made on one life as a result of this. The median age in this church is probably in the late 30's to early 40's, being that they have membership ranging from in the 80's to 2-years-old.

So that has been my month. Tomorrow I head East to Alabama for two weeks then to Kansas for Sat. thru Monday, arriving home on Tuesday just in time for Thanksgiving. I will post more later - but don't look before Thanksgiving as it will probably not be here. :-)

Fun In Colorado

I've been in Colorado for a week now and have really enjoyed myself. I was able to reconnect with some old friends from days gone by, which proved a lot of fun to take stroll down memory lane.

Last week I was in Fort Collins with Marc Leverett. Marc is doing a bang up job in making some slow, but needed transitions there. I am impressed with not only the church, but his quality of membership; some really genuine people.

• His pianist is probably one of the most talented I have heard in a long time.


• His youth guy (Eli) is doing a bang-up job. I got to spend some time with he and his sweet wife. What a great couple.


• Marc is teaching the college/career class (I sat in on this class on Sunday morning) and thoroughly enjoyed myself. Marc is a perfect fit for this group of young adults and they seemed to genuinely enjoy him leading them. He played "speed golf (Bible study)" with them and it was very engaging; lots of fun.

Then I headed South toward Canon City - with a small side excursion through some of my old stomping grounds in Denver. I even stopped by the old Westland Baptist Church and had about a 20 min. chat with one of the pastors from what used to be South Sheridan Baptist (now Red Rocks Baptist). They are renting the buildings until Jan. when their new facilities are competed.

Currently they (Red Rocks Baptist) are running about 550 on Sunday Morning. It was interesting to say the least, but I will save you the mess, just knowing that it is sad to see such a great work (Westland) dimished to just a handfull of people trying to revive what was once a thriving church.

I drove by all the houses and apartments I lived in while in Denver (four in all). One, the duplex my wife and I lived in right after our daughter was born is no longer there. It was located in the middle of 80-acres which today has been converted into single dwelling housing. I'm glad I don't live in Denver anymore. It's much bigger than I want to deal with.

Then I was with David Almanzar where I did a concert for his people. I love Canon City Baptist. David is doing such a great job in this small town. He is a perfect fit and they obviously love their pastor.

I had coffee with several of the men during the week and got to visit with a few of the members over dinner last night. This morning we met at 7:15am (not my best time of day) :-) for a men's prayer breakfast that was such a delight. David has a great ministry with his men and these guys are such a joy to be around.

I especially have enjoyed the time spent with one gentleman who has only been saved about a year. He was saved out of Mormonism. This guy is on fire and such a delight to talk with. David has a great group of senior adults that are more than willing to wrap you in warmth and love.

I also got to see the plans for his new building that will be starting soon and his people are ... well I want to say excited ... but I think that is an understatement. Rick Blue did a great job of helping them see the vision of what can be done and they are still talking about. I can't tell of all the stories that I have already heard from these people who already seeing the blessings of God as they have responded to sacrifically give to see God's work go forward.

One evening I got to go on a hay ride with this great group of senior adults (NO - I'm NOT a senior, but they like me ... plus there is food and I'm no dummy, I know these ladies can cook!). What a treat. I knew this would be one of the highlights of my trip and it was. It was cold and rainy, but that is what makes hay rides fun. They only bad part, they left out the hay. HEY! What's up with that? Oh well, I guess they decided that senior adults didn't want mess with all that hay and stuff. It was still fun.

Then I headed back North to Denver to be with Billy Hamm - he was in Virginia preaching for another pastor friend. This was a nice completion of an already good trip. I was able to see some friends I had not seen in over 25-years. The church was a lot of fun to be at and I am excited about the possibility of going back some time in the near future.

Wow! It's Been a Long Time

I can't believe it has been so long since I have posted. So I will try to catch everyone up in this one post. Before I do, I have spread pictures throughout this post. Most are from Osborne, KS so when you read of that section, you will know more of what the picture is about. The third picture down (the one with the water) is of Land Between The Lakes in Kentucky.

Now, let's see - May 12th was the last time I posted, so what has happened since then?

Well on May 16th I headed North to Springfield, MO where I attended the National BBFI Fellowship meeting. From there I headed to Branson, MO to "chill" for a couple of days. Here is a pic I took from my third floor balcony.

This was a nice and welcomed time after the previous week with stressful vehicle problems. I was also able to get started on the current project that has occupied much of my free times since then. I am working on a new program to be able to present in my meetings. You can find information about it here.

From Branson, I drove North to Decatur, IL where I was at Temple Baptist Church and presented my Prophecy Conference. While there I was able to video the whole conference that I now have fully edited and have on a 3 DVD set that I make available at these conferences. This was needed as all I had was VHS tapes that were recorded some 6-years ago, so an updated set was badly needed.

The greatest part about this meeting was that one young man stepped out and accepted Christ as savior. That is always a blessing to see.

From Decatur, IL I headed South to Paducah, KY where I was at Highland Baptist Church for a Family Conference. I had a great time with these people appreciated the pastor, who covered the expense of my hotel bill from Thursday night and Friday night, an expense that I would have been out-of-pocket for.

This was my first time in Paducah. The meeting was the week of Memorial Day so we took a day to go to a place called "Land Between the Lakes". This is a 170,000-acre national recreation area in Western KY and TN located near 1-24, about 90 miles N. of Nashville and just S. of Paducah. It was a beautiful location for pictures and nature. I really enjoyed it.

From Paducah, I headed back to Branson where I "camped-out" at the condo again. I had a last minute booking in Nixa, MO (I booked this while in Springfield a few weeks earlier). At this church, the pastor is brand new. In fact, he was once the music minister at the church in Decatur, IL that I had just been at.

While in Nixa I presented an overview of my Prophecy conference, in hopes that I would be able to book a full meeting next year. This past week I booked that meeting, so that was successful.

From Nixa I finally headed back home on June 5th after being gone for 21-days. I was good to be home and in my own bed again. The only bad part is that I would be home for the next 5-weeks, with the exception of one Sunday meeting, which translates to a full month without income. So I knew things were going to be tight.

On June 17th, the day before Father's Day, I headed to North Texas to Bowie. I had not been in Bowie in close to 14-years. I don't remember from then but I am sure that very little has changed.

This was the first time I had been in this church and we had a great time. I was able to bring a special Father's Day message that was well received with many decisions that day. In the evening service I did a concert. It was nice to get out of the routine and do something different.

I want to thank this pastor, Ron Abbott, for allowing me to be with him. It was a last minute call that I made when I found out that I had been cancelled from another church. So this was a real blessing.

Now I would be home until the second week of July, but it was good as I was able to spend my birthday at home ... something that I don't usually get to do.

On July 15th I headed to the Fort Worth area where I was with Terry Kizer at Alliance Baptist Church. I presented my Prophecy Conference on Sat. evening and all day Sunday. Again, this was well received and I was able to just about sell out of the 30 DVD's that I had made. Actually, I had pre-sold 5 of these at the church I recorded them at in Decatur, IL and 6 at the church in Nixa, so I only took 19 sets and sold all but 2 sets. That was good as the income was very much in need by this time. We had a great time at the meeting and again, many decisions were made during this conference.

On July 17th I started a VBS in my home town of Leander, TX which meant that I could work while at home - another treat. We had a great week with over 140 kids each night, yes, it was an evening VBS.

The only bad part about the week is that I blew a head gasket in my truck but didn't know that I had blown it. The truck over heated on me while sitting in line at the bank. I thought the thermostat has gone bad so I bought a new one and replaced it. It seemed to help, but alas I was wrong.

On Sat. July 22nd I headed North to Gardner, KS where I was to hold a week long Family Conference. As I said in the previous paragraph, I thought I had fixed my truck. I was wrong. I was able to drive from the Austin area to Hillsboro, TX before - BAM!! - my truck over heated again. I was less than a mile for the Hillsboro exit so I just coasted in to the gas station and began to try and figure out what to do next.

I walked across the highway to a car dealer, who put me in contact with a garage what was opened until noon (it was now 10:30am) - so I "high-tailed" it back across the highway, jumped in my truck and headed to the garage.

$75 later I was on the road. They said that I had a pocket in my engine that had trapped air, not letting enough water in to cool the engine. It worked for me ... I mean, they are the experts, at least they charged me like they were the experts.

Well, I made it about 30 miles up the road and noticed the temp. gage beginning to rise once again. So I quickly got on the phone and called the garage ... they were all gone for the day. So, to make a looong story short, I was able to ease my truck all the way to Gardner, KS (this is in the S.E. section of Kansas City, KS) by driving with my heater on about half of the way there.

At this point I take you back a few paragraphs where you will note that we are in the middle of July - IT'S HOT!!!!!!! And I am running my heater. As it turned out, I ended up totally replacing the engine in my truck and $2,200.00 later I was able to leave Kansas with a new (re-built) engine in my truck. What a week! I just laughed most of the week because I realized that it wouldn't do me an ounce of good to complain.

Well, I was at the Liberty Baptist Church in Gardner for a week long Family Conference. This pastor had spent over $1,100.00 in advertising in hopes that he could attrack the people of this bedroom community to come out. They did not. I really felt bad for him. He had worked so hard to try and have a good turn out. One night it was he and his wife, myself and one church member. I didn't mind it but I knew that he was really discouraged.

In spite of a terrible week as far as response to the conference, this pastor went well beyond the call of duty by giving me the best love offering I had received in a long time. I was honored and humbled, not to mention thankful (agian, I refer you to the month without income). This was just in the nick of time.

On August 5th I caught a plane to Columbus, OH where a pastor met me and we drove to Findlay, OH - about an hour and a half drive further North. I did a 2-day Heritage Builders Conference and took a very quick day trip to Rittman, OH for a Fellowship Meeting on Monday.

This was a good meeting. I had been at this church about 5-years prior, but they had changed pastor's and I knew they were not in a position to have someone in so I waited before calling them. It was good to refresh aquaintances agian with some of these people.

On Tuesday we drove back to Columbus were we had breakfast with a couple of pastor friends. Actually one is a pastor and the other used to pastor, but now is a radio announcer for a Christian radio station in Columbus, OH. He took us on a quick tour of the station which was really fun, then we were off to the airport where I caught my flight home.

I got home on Tuesday, August 8th and on Thursday, August 10th I headed North to Osborne, KS. This has been my annual meeting since I began this ministry 6-years ago. This marks the 5th time I have been in this church and what a joy it is every time.

I have become good friends with this pastor and his family and enjoy each and every time we have to fellowship together. As well, there is another family in town that have befriended me ... actually, they make me part of their family. Tim and T.J. are some of the sweetest people I have ever met. Everytime I go to Osborne I stay in their home. This is something that I usually do not like doing, but I don't feel like a stranger in their home, which makes is so much better.

In Osborne I did a weekend, city-wide, Heritage Builders conference which involved four of the seven churches in town. There was Baptist, Methodist, the Christian Church and the Church of God assemblies represented at this conference - and we all got along - what a novel idea. On top of that, we met in the school auditorium - things like this only happen in small towns. Try to get a school to allow a religious meeting to take place in a big city ... for free ... it ain't gonna happen!

I preached for Billy Neumann on Sunday morning and then in the evening we did a concert in the park. Another fun small town experience. While I was setting up doing sound check and all, there were people across the street from the park in their lawn chairs watching and wondering what was about to happen. I played one song while Billy and Tim walked around for me to make sure the sound was loud enough, but not too loud. When I finished the song, the people across the street from the park began to clap. We all got a good laugh out of that as it was still a good 45-minutes before the "official" start time of the concert.

I have no idea how many people were present as there was quit a few behind me that I never saw, but I do know the people across the street from the park increased their crowd from two to four by the time the concert started.

Well that's it. I have caught up about 14-weeks of travel. "IF" you are still here reading this ... thanks! I will try to keep this more current in the future as this took way longer that I expected to finish.

Turkey Hunting

On Saturday I headed West to New Mexico to hold a meeting. I was excited to be "On the Road Again" and got an early start - around 6:00am. About 30 miles South of Post, TX a turkey (much like the one pictured here) made a last second decision that proved to be fatal. She decided to take flight directly in the path of my 2002 Dodge Ram 1500 travel at a speed of about 75 MPH up Highway 84. Needless to say, my Dodge won - but at the same time, so did the turkey.

After hitting the bird, I looked in my mirror to see the feathers flying all over the road, only to find that there were no feathers. What? I know I hit that bird, there is no way I missed it. I even heard it hit.

I thought, oh well, it must be stuck to the bumper or something and I'm not going to stop now and peel it off. So I continued on, not really giving it another thought.

When I arrived in Post it was time to refuel. So I pulled into the gas station at the corner of Highway 84 and 380, got out and filled my truck with the needed go juice. I noticed that people were looking at me rather oddly, but still never really gave it another thought - that is until I finished refueling and pulled up out of the way so I could go in and use the restroom and buy some coffee. It was at this point that a lady informed me that I had a big bird stuck in my grill.

I proceeded to peel this bird out of my grill thus revealing the real damage. That turkey took out my radiator. I had not noticed any overheating since hitting the bird, but then, it was a cool morning so I decided to press on.

Upon arriving at the Texas/New Mexico border I finally overheated. That was about 80 miles. I again pulled over and let my truck cool off, found a guy with some stop leak and a couple of jugs of water (all of which cost me close to $30.00 - the price of doing business in a small town) and was on my way again.

I decided to go to Hobbs, NM since it was only 50 miles away and see if I could find a new radiator. That proved useless as no one in town could help me. However, I never overheated on this short trip to Hobbs so I decided to continue on my route. Besides, the next town was only 40 miles away, surely I could make it that far.

WRONG! I only made it 20 miles before overheating. So agian I stop and let the truck cool down, add more water and continue on. I make it to the edge of town and I am overheating yet another time.

By this time, frustration has reached a peak. Add this to the absolutely terrible month I had last month and it was all I could take emotionally. I called the pastor of the church that I was to be with and informed him that I was broken down and would need a ride. After those arrangement were made I decided to call my wife and let her know that I had not made my destination. I had already talked with her upon leaving Post, so this was an update. As soon as I heard her voice I lost control of my emotions and the tears began to flow uncontrollably. I am normally not an overly emotional person but this was more than I could handle and to be honest, it really felt good to just let go and let some of that pent-up frustration out.

To make a long story short, I made it another 16 miles before shutting it down for good and waiting for a tow truck to come rescue me. They hauled me and my disabled truck to Rowsell, NM where I waited another hour for someone from Socorro, NM to come pick me up for my meeting the next day. I was due to arrive in Socorro around 4:00pm, but with all the delays, it was 1:30am before I got to my room.

Yet, as usual, God blessed with a really good meeting and touched lives. On top of that, God met my needs with supplying the entire amount of extra cash to pay for the repairs on my truck. The total cost of repairs was $1298.70, of which my insurance covered all but $250.00 of that bill. It was a tough weekend, one that I am glad is now past, but then, it was also a really good weekend and a reminder that God is in control.

Oh - BTW, the man who came to Roswell to get me hit a deer on the way back and then hit two birds. I told him that I would soon exit his vehicle and doubtfully he would encounter any more animals. :-)

New CD Is Ready

Well ... I finally have it finished. I found that since I bought the new Presonus Firebox recording studio, that i was able to get the music stuck on my other studio (the Roland 1680) and finally finish this project that is long overdue.

Now that it is finished I will begin plans for the next CD. I really like the flexibility of this new studio, plus the fact that it is all computer generated really makes it easy to work on anywhere.

Anyway, you can check out the new CD on my website: Click Here - you will find the player at the bottom of the page.

Paris, France

Recently my wife and I took a trip to Turkey (see the following blog). On our way home, we had an overnight layover in Paris. I was so excited about seeing this city. I studied the street map and the sites we wanted to see for about two weeks ... to the point that I had a very good image of inner city Paris etched on my brain.

Much to our dismay, when we arrive in Paris the pilot informed us that the temp. outside was 2 deg. C - that translates to 36 deg. F. Yuck! On top of that, it was rainy and windy. Yet, we were here and we were not about to let a little cold or wet weather dampen our spirits.

It took us about an hour and a half longer to get from the airport to the hotel; check into the hotel then get back to the airport where we bought transit tickets for the RER (the rapid transit system in Paris). I wanted to be at our first destination by around 12:30pm but it was actually 3:00pm when we arrived.

Due to being behind schedule, we diverted our trek from starting at the Arc de Triumph to Notre Dame since we didn't really plan to go up in the Arc but just view it, take a few pictures then make our way to the Louvre for some more pics then on to Notre Dame, where he planned to purchase tickets to go up into the bell tower.

Notre Dame was a sight to behold. This ancient church has some of the most ornate stone carving that I have ever seen on a building in my life. Not just a few here and there, but everywhere. The gargoyles at the top of the building were a site to behold as well. We went as high as they would let us go in this structure. Had it been a clear day we would have been able to see for miles. As is was, you could barely make out the Eiffel Tower due to the overcase skies. They say (or at least the song says) that Springtime in Paris is wonderful - don't you believe a word of it. It was miserable.

Not only was the outside structure fantastic, but interior was just as ornate. The stained glass windows were worth spending several mintues at each one (which if you did, you would probably be in the place about 3-4 hours).

One thing that I couldn't help but notice was the coldness of the building. Not just because it was cold outside, but just that sense of emptiness and lifelessness. I feel that everytime I see the image of Mary holding a dead Jesus on her lap or a crucified Savior on a cross. It's not that I object to the death of Christ, but I serve a risen Lord. I don't want to keep Him on the cross. I am thankful for the cross, but that is not the end of the story. There is so much more. Catholicism seems to want to keep Jesus dead and/or on the cross thus pointing the worship to Mary. I object this and find it offensive. When I see images like this I think of the old hymn, "I serve a RISEN Saviour, He's in the world today..."

From Notre Dame we made our way to the Pantheon only to find that it was closed so we then set our sites on the Eiffel Tower. It was everything we expected it to be and much more. By the time we finished with the Tower, we were colder than before, wetter than we wanted to be, tired from climbing (I don't know how many) stairs and hungry. On top of that, it was now 9:00pm and we had to be up early the next morning to catch our flight home. So we headed back to the hotel for a nice hot shower and good nights sleep.

The next day we flew West, which means that we were flying with the sun at a speed of about 550 mph, so we had about 20-21 hours of sun light. That makes for a long day in anyones book. By the time we finally crawled into bed, we had been up about 23 hours.

I did bring one memory home from Paris - a cold. So since I don't feel like working I decided to update this blog. I hope you enjoy the pictures. We had a great trip (in spite of the cold in Paris) and look forward to the next time we can go overseas somewhere. I love America and all that there is to do and see here, but there is so much history else where in our world that I am hoping to see before too long. In October I will fly to New Zealand and Australia - I am eagerly looking forward to that trip as well.

Thanks for visiting my blog - leave a comment if you so desire.