New Beginnings

    I am sitting here thinking about the events of one year ago today. I am thankful that we came through it without much major damage.  One side of the deck is gone, the storm loosened it, so I told Matt to take it down. June 29, 2012 , started like most days back then. I wasn't working, Matt was out of town with his job. He was due to come home late that evening, So I did laundry, cleaned up the house and finished painting the cabinets. The cabinets were on the deck, so I put them back in the kitchen and put the stuff away. I cleaned up the paint and listened to a book on tape.  At that time I was doing the weather forecasts for the Calvary Assembly Radio station. I looked at the forecast and they had a severe weather warning.  I was thinking all we are going to get is some bad thunderstorms and maybe hail. I also began to pray, because Matt would be driving home in that. Ever since the wreck that Matt had in 2006, when the weather gets bad and it pours t...

     Today is Fathers Day, and I went to church with my dad for the first time in a long time. It was bittersweet as the past meets the present and future.  I grew up in Mt.Zion Baptist church, my dad serves as a deacon there, my grandfather and grandmother were very active there, as well as me and Sharon and my mom.   Mt.Zion began in its present location in 1968.According to the church history Rev. Nelson Staples Jr. and Mrs. Staples and Deacon Billy and Susie Lewis were standing on that land when the power of the Holy Ghost few on them.  This at one time was a place where drunks hung out. It was called the "Crow Pole".  Rev. Nelson Staples Jr. began to be impressed of the Lord to build a church on this location.  After checking into some things, the property was owned by a Methodist Church,  ( I found this out later) That people had to be tracked down to sign the deed for the property, and my grandfather Joe Thornton  was o...

     From this title you would think something is missing. There isn't anything missing. I have more than what I need as far as material things are concerned. I am not missing any meals. I went to the doctor and my weight is the same as it has been, maybe not a good thing, but I haven't gained either. Then you would say what's missing?      I miss some of the work I used to do. I miss going to and working with the groups to promote concerts. I started doing that back in the 1980's and loved it. Of course I made a few mistakes along the way, but that's how you learn. I remember the very first concert I had a hand in promoting . It was 1987 at the Ramada Inn. They wanted to promote their indoor mall. They had the concert in the indoor courtyard. I remember asking for advice on who to get and a lot of people like "Buzz Keller" were just interested in promoting gospel music., so he donated his time and resources and the Patton's from Oceana, who had...

     Recently I have noticed some things about myself. I don't like to travel much, in fact some days I don't like leaving home. Some days I don't even leave the house and I wonder what in the world is going on with me.  Someone said that is a sign of getting older, but I know some spunky 80 year olds that travel all of the time. Take a person like Emma Jean Barnes and a few others who have been everywhere on mission trips. I have to admire someone who can do that. So what is going on? I wrestled with this on yesterday and here are some conclusions that I have come up with.      This started happening about three years ago when I lost my job. I got tired of explaining to people what happened. I was embossed, so I begin to stay in and do schoolwork. I would go to class and come home. I didn't have to leave the house , except to go to the store. I didn't have to leave the house to shop. I could order from QVC and they bring it right to the do...