Friday, November 12, 2010
Granite Rock Pile!
There is a very interesting place along I-10 between Tucson and the New Mexico state line. As you are traveling along the landscape is mostly desert looking with scrub bushes, sand, cactus and small rocks. Suddenly everything changes. The landscape becomes filled with all sizes of boulders stacked up in all kinds of precarious positions. The change is abrupt and complete. It stays that way a few miles and then changes back to the way it was. It's like God dumped a pile of rocks, balanced a few huge ones impossibly on small ones and left it for us to admire and figure out. It is fascinating and beautiful!
There is a rest area in the middle of this stretch called Texas Canyon. That's where most of these pictures were taken. The rest of the pictures were taken out the windshield a little farther east on I-10 as the sun was going down behind us. It was a gorgeous evening.
We drove hard today (Thursday) after a long stop this morning for an oil change. We are parked at a Flying J for some sleep. I'll post this first thing Friday morning.
God bless,
Davy
Thursday, November 11, 2010
Desert Cove Assembly
We always have a grand time at Desert Cove Assembly in ElMirage, Arizona. This year was no exception. The Lord gave us great altar services and we are very thankful for that. In these last days we must have a move of God's Spirit in our lives, our families and our churches. I am so grateful that God continues to move among us like He does.
We made our first trip to Desert Cove in the fall of 2002. At that time we were still living in Wichita, Kansas and pastoring a church. We had met a few of these families at Fairland Campmeeting in Fouke, Arkansa and Faith Tabernacle Campmeeting in Weir, Kansas. In out first visit here we fell in love with the folks and made friends for life. It is amazing how one choice, one visit can affect your life so much. This church and their friendship has had a great impact on our lives. We thank God for them and many other churches across the USA.
We closed revival last night and we are on our way to Keller, Texas. It is about 1075 miles from here to there. I guess we are on the road again!
Davy
Wednesday, November 10, 2010
The James Martin Family
Kelly Jo wasn't able to gather the whole family for a picture but I think we have pictures of Bro. & Sis. Martin and all the children that currently travel with them. They have eight with them at this time. If you don't know them I encourage you to get acquainted with this fine family. Click on the title of this post and it should take you to their website where you can find out much more about their tremendous ministry.
Davy
Tuesday, November 9, 2010
Twinkie Diet!
Davy
(CNN) -- Twinkies. Nutty bars. Powdered donuts.
For 10 weeks, Mark Haub, a professor of human nutrition at Kansas State University, ate one of these sugary cakelets every three hours, instead of meals. To add variety in his steady stream of Hostess and Little Debbie snacks, Haub munched on Doritos chips, sugary cereals and Oreos, too.
His premise: That in weight loss, pure calorie counting is what matters most -- not the nutritional value of the food.
The premise held up: On his "convenience store diet," he shed 27 pounds in two months.
For a class project, Haub limited himself to less than 1,800 calories a day. A man of Haub's pre-dieting size usually consumes about 2,600 calories daily. So he followed a basic principle of weight loss: He consumed significantly fewer calories than he burned.
His body mass index went from 28.8, considered overweight, to 24.9, which is normal. He now weighs 174 pounds.
But you might expect other indicators of health would have suffered. Not so.
Haub's "bad" cholesterol, or LDL, dropped 20 percent and his "good" cholesterol, or HDL, increased by 20 percent. He reduced the level of triglycerides, which are a form of fat, by 39 percent.
"That's where the head scratching comes," Haub said. "What does that mean? Does that mean I'm healthier? Or does it mean how we define health from a biology standpoint, that we're missing something?"
Despite his temporary success, Haub does not recommend replicating his snack-centric diet.
"I'm not geared to say this is a good thing to do," he said. "I'm stuck in the middle. I guess that's the frustrating part. I can't give a concrete answer. There's not enough information to do that."
Two-thirds of his total intake came from junk food. He also took a multivitamin pill and drank a protein shake daily. And he ate vegetables, typically a can of green beans or three to four celery stalks.
Families who live in food deserts have limited access to fresh fruits and vegetables, so they often rely on the kind of food Haub was eating.
"These foods are consumed by lots of people," he said. "It may be an issue of portion size and moderation rather than total removal. I just think it's unrealistic to expect people to totally drop these foods for vegetables and fruits. It may be healthy, but not realistic."
Haub's body fat dropped from 33.4 to 24.9 percent. This posed the question: What matters more for weight loss, the quantity or quality of calories?
His success is probably a result of caloric reduction, said Dawn Jackson Blatner, a dietitian based in Atlanta, Georgia.
"It's a great reminder for weight loss that calories count," she said. "Is that the bottom line to being healthy? That's another story."
Blatner, a spokeswoman for the American Dietetic Association, said she's not surprised to hear Haub's health markers improved even when he loaded up on processed snack cakes.
Being overweight is the central problem that leads to complications like high blood pressure, diabetes and high cholesterol, she said.
How well are you managing your diabetes?
"When you lose weight, regardless of how you're doing it -- even if it's with packaged foods, generally you will see these markers improve when weight loss has improved," she said.
Before jumping on the Ding Dong bandwagon, Blatner warned of health concerns.
"There are things we can't measure," said Blatner, questioning how the lack of fruits and vegetables could affect long-term health. "How much does that affect the risk for cancer? We can't measure how diet changes affect our health."
I was eating healthier, but I wasn't healthy. I was eating too much.
On August 25, Haub, 41, started his cake diet focusing on portion control.
"I'm eating to the point of need and pushing the plate or wrapper away," he said.
He intended the trial to last a month as a teaching tool for his class. As he lost weight, Haub continued the diet until he reached a normal body mass index.
Before his Twinkie diet, he tried to eat a healthy diet that included whole grains, dietary fiber, berries and bananas, vegetables and occasional treats like pizza.
"There seems to be a disconnect between eating healthy and being healthy," Haub said. "It may not be the same. I was eating healthier, but I wasn't healthy. I was eating too much."
He maintained the same level of moderate physical activity as before going on the diet. (Haub does not have any ties to the snack cake companies.)
To avoid setting a bad example for his kids, Haub ate vegetables in front of his family. Away from the dinner table, he usually unwrapped his meals.
Haub monitored his body composition, blood pressure, cholesterol and glucose, and updated his progress on his Facebook page, Professor Haub's diet experiment.
To curb calories, he avoided meat, whole grains and fruits. Once he started adding meat into the diet four weeks ago, his cholesterol level increased.
Haub plans to add about 300 calories to his daily intake now that he's done with the diet. But he's not ditching snack cakes altogether. Despite his weight loss, Haub feels ambivalence.
"I wish I could say the outcomes are unhealthy. I wish I could say it's healthy. I'm not confident enough in doing that. That frustrates a lot of people. One side says it's irresponsible. It is unhealthy, but the data doesn't say that."
Monday, November 8, 2010
A Tribute to Pastor Dale Graham
Several years ago we were traveling down I-44 in Missouri. By the grace of God we barely avoided a very serious accident. We were pretty shook up so we decided to stop at the Flying J for fuel and to sleep a few hours in the 5th wheel. We fueled up but all the parking spots were taken so we drove across the interstate and parked in the Wal-Mart parking lot.
After we were settled in the trailer I walked to the Taco Bell for some food. Inside was a local Pastor and his family. His name was Pastor Dale Graham. He invited us to church the next day and after a tremendous service Sunday night he asked to stay for revival. I made some phone calls to reschedule my next revival and we stayed the rest of the week. We had a great revival. From a near miss almost certainly fatal accident to a fuel stop, a full truck stop, a Wal-Mart, Taco Bell and a great revival. Sounds like God to me!
That week was the start of a long friendship and several revivals there in Sullivan, Missouri. We fell in love with Bro. Graham and his precious wife, his sons and daughters and their spouses and his grandchildren. Bro. Graham has always stayed in touch, keeping us informed of the happenings in the lives of his family and church. Just this past Saturday he was texting me asking for prayer and then giving me a praise report.
Sunday morning while he was preaching from Hebrews 11 about Abraham looking for that heavenly city Bro. Graham stepped out of time and into eternity. While preaching about Heaven he left Missouri and went to Heaven! His son told me yesterday that when he got to his dad he was already gone.
This is the second time in less than a week that a close friend has passed away suddenly and without warning. First Bro. Loren McCoy on Wednesday 11/3 and now Bro. Dale Graham on Sunday 11/7. Bro. Loren was 41 and I think Bro. Graham was 55. These two sudden deaths remind us again how quickly we can die and how important it is to be prepared to meet God. If you are not a born again Christian with a relationship with Christ, please pray now. Tomorrow may be too late. God loves you and wants to forgive you and wash you clean from sin but the choice is yours to make. God will not force Himself on you but if you are unsaved and reading this I am sure He is reaching for you.
Please pray for Sis. Graham, his whole family and the church he pastored. They need the help of God.
Davy
Bro Dale Graham in his pulpit.
Pastor Dale Graham & Davy
Sunday, November 7, 2010
One Year of Mile Markers - November 7, 2011
Friday, November 5, 2010
Bloomington Pentecostal Church of God
Thursday, November 4, 2010
Now For Some Good News!
You can read some very good news right here.
Bro. Matthew Noe came back to the Lord at Bond Campmeeting in October. I am so glad we were there to experience it. It was such a thrill to see the joy of salvation on his face. It was great to visit with Matthew and Ashlee and hug their necks. Matthew was a little lad when we first went to Bond. It is good to have him back and to know they are allowing God to work in their lives.
Praise God! Praise God! Praise God!
Davy
Bro. Loren McCoy
While in California this year we became fast friends with Bro. Loren McCoy. We had met his dad and some of his brothers before but had only heard of Loren. Everything we heard was good and every bit of it turned out to be true.
We had revival in Atwater for two full weeks. Bro. Loren came nearly every night that his home church wasn't having service. We sang, shouted, laughed, cried and melted together like brothers. I left there with a great love and respect for him. In fact I felt like we had been friends for years. I think he made everybody feel that way.
Wednesday Bro. Loren fell down and by the time somebody got to him he was in eternity. From all indications he had a massive heart attack. He left a large family and many, many friends behind and to every one of them I'm sure it seems he is gone too soon.
The two weeks I spent around him I saw a guy that loved God with great passion. Those that know him better than I do say he was more on fire for God than he had ever been. What a great testimony.
Bro. Loren loved to laugh. He loved to have a good time. I've been heavy hearted since I heard the news. I can not imagine the tears and sorrow of his mother, brothers and the rest of his family. But Loren is laughing, rejoicing and enjoying Heaven. Loren is in the presence of God. In that respect I kind of envy him. He's home! No more struggle. No more sorrow. No more disappointment. He made it!
I do wish I could talk to him one more time. I do wish I could hug his neck one more time...and I will. And it may not be long. It might not be long for any of us.
If you are not ready to meet God please get ready. If you don't know how to prepare to meet God send me an email. I would be glad to talk with you about it.
Update: Here's two more pictures of Bro. Loren during revival in Atwater. One is of him and little Jared Burris at work and the other was taken after church.
Please pray for Bro. Loren's family the next several days. They must have the help of God.
Davy