Out on the farm

We've enjoyed beautiful weather for the last few days.


I caught this one-eye catfish on Saturday and small bass on Sunday.


We saw buzzards eating away the remains of this poor deer. We don't know if coyotes or some hunter killed this doe but it had been laying out in the field for a couple days for sure.


I got to try out my bro's CAR, but I didn't get to fire a round but we manage to harvest one of the pesky beavers out on the lake today. I did see a couple of deers running by while I was fishing/hunting this afternoon.

Back in Dixieland

DB is back in the land of cotton!

Updated status on Facebook! "Merry Christmas" Everyone!!

-DB-

* Travelogue:
3:30 am up 4:55 am at John Wayne Airport absolutely no line to check in at NWA,
$40 for check luggage ($15 - 1st bag, $25 - 2nd bag) $2 for tall Starbuck ($1.19 plus tip)
7:00 am takeoff (Orange County Flight rules)
12 pm CST (10am) at MSP airport
3 hour layover - lunch at McD - $6 for a crummy $ Big Mac Combo.
3 pm takeoff
5:20 pm touchdown in Memphis $ 27 for a Sun Studio Tee-shirt (gift for LA)
2 hr ride to hometown in Mississippi 8pm CST (6pm PST) at family restaurant
Seeing my new niece for the first time and having my nephew jumping up and down greeting me ... VERY PRICELESS!
11:30 pm CST (9:30 PST) CRASH in bed - time to recharge for the next 10 days at home!

Christmas Day:
After lunching on leftover Dim Sum and Turkey dinner from Christmas Eve, most of the family head out to the farm to fish (and me to look for some Bambi's).


DB was hunting for Bambi, ammo, and fresh deer hoof tracks ...


Meanwhile Grandpa, was watching baby Mae and nephew Ford was checking out the big carp that his dad just reeled in! I didn't see any Bambi's and missed a really big fish out on the lake!

Epic - You

Soundboard duties


James "Tex" mans the media station today


Art's worship team practicing


Welcome - Pastor Erin


Liturgical Reading - Michael


Announcement - Pastor Kevin


El Sauzal Orphanage Christmas gift update - Andrew


Habitat for Humanity update - Kevin


Special video presentation on Christmas


Message - Pastor Erin


Pastor Erin continue in our series


Main text: Luke 2


all about Shepherds


Hebrew text


"Is God like the Hulk?"


"Or is God like a newborn baby?"


Additional scripture


Discussion question


Closing worship and communion


Benediction

SERIES: OPENING OUR GIFTS
MESSAGE: Giving Yourself
TEXT: Luke 2, Hebrew 1
SYNOPSIS: Of all the gifts we give, nothing is more profound than our presence. Like Christ before us, when we give our own hearts to one another, we give something divine.

* Blogger Note - this is probably the last full posting that I will do on Epic Church services - it's been a great three years of sharing the great stuff that we're doing at Epic. Thanks for all the support and encouragement over the last three years from my readers! Have a very Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year!

-DB- aka Hiron

Epic - Generosity

Sound Check!


Welcome - Intern Michael


Advent Litany - Michael

Opening Worship - Jacob's team

Announcement - Melanie

El Sauzal Gift Drive - Andrew

Tithes and Offerings - Pastor Erin

Special Video presentation - Ingrid

Pastor Kevin sharing on the arts and on Generosity

Selective reading from K. Norris's "The Cloister Walk"

Scripture - Matthew 20

Personal Sharing on Generosity by Rick & Diane

Closing Prayer

Communion Elements

Closing worship

Benediction

Bonus Photo:

some of the gifts for El Sauzal Orphanage.

SERIES: OPENING OUR GIFTS

MESSAGE: Generosity

TEXT: Matthew 20:1-16

SYNOPSIS: Our text tells us that the kingdom of heaven is like a generous landowner, which is to say that generosity exists at the core of God's being. As such, Jesus came to us on Christmas morning to reveal the extend of that love - inexhaustible, non-comparing, generous - and to show us how God's love can guide every part of our daily lives. An obstacle to our receiving and being guided by this love, however, is our own insecurity, our own sense of fairness, that causes us to compare ourselves to others (and grow ever suspicious that we my in fact might be getting the short end of the stick!). The result is a kind of spiritual death - a life lived out of a feeling of scarcity instead of generosity. As we hope to see, one of the greatest gifts we can give to each other is the gift of a generous spirit, which looks in part like sharing our resources, but ultimately a giving of ourselves to one another.

-DB-