Good question!

Is it appropriate to pray for sick pets? The answer may surprise you.

It's a sad day

Yes, it's true...Avery Johnson has been fired as the coach of the Dallas Mavericks. He was the main reason I rooted for the Mavs. I think we all knew it was inevitable after their second consecutive first-round loss. Still, I hate to see Avery go through this, but I'm sure he'll bounce back.

Gas prices?

How high are these gas prices going to go? I really need to buy me a bicycle. I could use the exercise, too!

Sunday Night Reflections

• We were in Waxahachie this weekend for the GLAD Fine Arts Festival, and what a great weekend it was for Joey and Kathleen. They each received a Superior for their vocal solos, and Joey also got a Superior on his violin solo and drama solo. But the biggest award for them was the Merit Award in the Small Vocal Ensemble category. The Merit Award is given to the top entry in each category. With that rating, they qualified for the National Fine Arts Festival in Charlotte NC in August. Way to go, Joey and Kathleen!
• What is with this weather? It was downright chilly this morning. I'm not sure the temperature got out of the 50s today. And it's going back down into the 30s overnight? Is it really late April? Actually, I'm enjoying this cool weather. It'll get hot soon enough.
• Today was the end of the "3:16" series. I'll be preaching stand-alone sermons for most of May before we begin a new series in June. I like preaching in a series because it keeps all of us focused on a single important theme that we can cover it some detail. It also makes my preparation a little easier because I don't have to start a sermon from scratch every week. Still, preaching a stand-alone sermon has a lot of value and possibilities, too. I like doing that, too.
• Our Sunday evening series is going well. We're currently in a study of the book of James. We'll probably be in this series throughout the summer. God has really been ministering to us on Sunday evenings. It makes for a great start to our week.
• Have a great week, everyone!

Fine Arts Festival

It's time for our annual trek to Waxahachie for our district's Fine Arts Festival. Joey and Kathleen have been competing in Fine Arts since they were 12 years old, I think. This is going to be their last year to be eligible to compete so obviously we're hoping they can both qualifiy for the Nationals Fine Arts Festival in Charlotte. They've both qualified for Nationals before but it would be nice for them to do it again on their last opportunity. But even if they don't, we at Solid Rock can honestly say that we're very proud of them.

One added treat for us is that Araceli is the main speaker for the Friday night service. Looking forward to that!

Pray for us on our trip. We leave Friday morning or noon (don't know yet) and we'll be back Saturday night, probably late.

Sunday Night Reflections

• Wasn't it just a couple of nights ago I wrote the last Sunday Night Reflections? This week just flew by, which is a good thing. I had some rough days this week but all in all, it ended on a good note.
• I was looking at my calendar for May, and boy, I'm not sure I'm going to have any free time all month. May and December are always incredibly busy months for me. Both months leave me feeling drained but relieved.
• I really enjoyed tonight's service. We spent a few minutes sharing about our trip to Lubbock this weekend. Hearing the reports tonight just added to everything positive about our trip. This weekend really inspired me, in terms of where our church is headed. I can't wait to see where God is going to lead us.
• Just one more week of the "3:16" series. That kind of makes me sad, because I've really enjoyed this series. Let's continue to pray for God to touch our hearts as a result of this series, even after it's finished.
• Have a great week! Don't let the devil steal your prayer time!

Church Training in Lubbock

A small group of us from Solid Rock just returned from Lubbock a couple of hours ago where we attended a church training event. Some of the sessions that were offered at this training were on Praise and Worship, Church Auditing, The Pastor's Wife (I didn't go to that one), Children's Ministry, the Pastor and the Church Board, Motivating Your Church to Pray, Royal Rangers, Sunday School, and many others. For the most part, the sessions were informative and presented well, although there were a few that didn't quite meet that standard. I thought the classes I attended were very good.

One of the best things about going on a trip like this is the fellowship we're able to enjoy. We had a great time together and ate at some good restaurants! It made for a great weekend!

On the map

This FLDS story has put our small city on the map. I drove downtown tonight and saw satellite uplink trucks for CNN, ABC, CBS, NBC, and local stations from Austin, Houston, San Antonio, and others getting ready for tomorrow's hearing at the courthouse. All the major networks have had live feeds from Ft. Concho, the Coliseum, or the Courthouse in the last week.

Let's pray for all the children involved in this case. They are the innocent victims in all of this, and they are precious souls to God.

Sunday Night Reflections

• We're more than halfway through the "3:16" series, and once again, I feel like this morning's service was the best one so far. Of course, I've really felt that way every week. And every week I can't wait for the next Sunday. It's just been a good series. Today's topic was on believing "in Him". Some powerful truths there.
• As most of you by know, I lost a cousin this week. Irma was only 44 years old. She lived in New Mexico, but will be laid to rest here in San Angelo on Wednesday morning. She suffered for a long time, and now is finally at rest in the Lord's presence. Please pray for her family, especially her husband and son and her parents.
• We're going to Lubbock this weekend for a church ministries training seminar. It's not San Antonio, but I'm still looking forward to it.
• Bedtime! Have a great week, everyone!

Team Hoyt

Here is the video we saw Sunday morning as part of the "3:16" series.

Solid Rock work day

We had a work day at Solid Rock a couple of weeks ago to get ready for Easter. I wasn't there because of a previously scheduled trip but we had several people show up and work hard to clean up the facilities and grounds. Here are just a few pictures to prove it!

Shout the Lord on American Idol tonight

I'm not really an "Idol" fan, but this post caught my attention.

What a game!

I stayed up to watch the NCAA National Championship basketball game, and boy, what a game it was! I haven't seen the post game interviews yet, but one thing that caught my attention was the excellent sportsmanship on both sides after the game. On the court right after the game, Memphis was gracious in defeat, and Kansas was celebrating but without the self-adulation that we see so often in sports.

I love college basketball!

Sunday Night Reflections

• For the past week, I've been working on memorizing Ephesians 3:16-19. Four verses may not seem like much but it's been a bit of a challenge. But it's been a good challenge--one I've enjoyed. I just don't do enough Scripture memorization. I would imagine it's that way for most Christians. I decided this week that I'm going to continue to memorize Scripture on a regular basis. I just won't define "regular" right now!
• I'm really enjoying the "3:16" sermon series that we're currently going through. I think it's important for those of us who have been in church for a long time to go back to John 3:16 and rediscover God's love for this world. This series has been both uplifting and convicting. I hope you'll all continue to invite friends and family to this series. Let's not keep all the blessing to ourselves!
• I've received lots of prayer requests lately by way of the Communication Card. I want you to know that I do pray throughout the week for those requests. Let's continue to agree together for the answer to our prayers.
• This week is shaping up to be a difficult one for me. I've got several deadlines and responsibilities converging on me. Please keep me in your prayers.
• Have a great week, everyone! Keep working on your Scripture memorization!

How are you doing?

For those of you who committed to memorizing Ephesians 3:16-19, how are you doing? I hope you're devoting some time to memorizing this passage. It's a good way to hide God's Word in our heart. Keep going!