Notes from the Narrow Road: Observations from a pilgrim traveling along The Way

I hope all of you have had a wonderful Christmas. The Jones family has. Michael actually slept late today and then went on 6 hours of sensory overload. He is sleeping now, taking a much needed nap. We had a wonderful lunch, with a lot of the food given to us by church members. We have more sweets than we know what to do with! Kim, Michael and I were blessed to have for lunch not only my parents and brother, but also Vic and Marsha Rhoades, who won't get to see family until next week, and also Charlie Williams, who took a break from fishing to spend Christmas with us. We had a good time together. Kim got another round of test results from her doctor and everything is going very well, and the baby is healthy and strong so far. We are truly blessed. Thank you for all your prayers. Last weekend our Music and Drama Ministries put on "Once Upon a Holy Night," our Christmas program for this year. We had over 1,000 people come and see it over two days. Praise the Lord!...

http://www.kristv.com/Global/story.asp?S=9534631&nav=Bsmj The above is a link to the story page about the RFHS Cheerleaders earning a trip to the Capital One Bowl in Florida. I am so proud of our young women. If you click on the video links you will get to watch the video report that aired on tv. Several of our youth are featured in the clip, but a huge shout-out goes to "Sarahcuda" Smith for not only knowing who was playing in the Capital One Bowl, but for getting props on the air for killing a buffalo. How many of us can say that?

My favorite Christmas trend this year is Santaphobia. Do a search on the Internet for "scared of Santa," which is a new book of pictures of children who were, well...scared of Santa. There is a website with over 200 pictures of various children being terrorized by Santa Claus, all for the enjoyment of their parents who caught the moment on film. You can even upload one of your own pictures for all to enjoy. Here's one of my favorites... Tell me about your santaphobia. I'll understand. Yes, I am a recovered santaphobic. I'll try to get my hands on some pictures of my own frightening encounters with "Father Christmas." But now the big guy doesn't bother me, so there is hope for all the children out there. But my fears kept me from making personal visits to Santa, and I told my parents I would write letters instead. By the way, santaphobia is not an inherited trait, as this year's picture of Michael proves.

This week I am in Arlington, TX to attend a conference on "Culture or CROSS-Culture" and to attend my final orientation meetings before I register for school. The conference is hosted by my school, B. H. Carroll Theological Institute (BHCTI), and we will have our meetings at FBC Arlington. BHCTI is a newer institution you may not have heard much about yet. If you are interested in learning more, I encourage you to check out their website at www.bhcti.org . There were a lot of reasons why I chose to pursue my doctorate at Carroll Institute, foremost among them the leadership of the Holy Spirit. But they are an innovative and non-traditional school which, I believe, is forging new ground in theological education which will allow many ministers and laypeople around the world to have access to quality education and training in ways unavailable to them before. For instance, my PhD program allows me to remain in full-time ministry in Rockport and further my education at the s...