HAPPY BIRTHDAY!!!!!!

Today is Glenda's birthday. She is ____ years old today! And as beautiful as ever! She is the best thing that has ever happened to me. She is such a woman of God, full of character and strength. I have been blessed to have been joined with her for all these years.

Glenda is a prayer warrior. I have always enjoyed seeing her in action when the enemy has thrown "stuff" in our path. She immediately begins a warfare with the enemy. Recently, while we were facing some major situations, I walked in to find her on her face in the floor of our home, travailing. I jus stopped and listened as she wrestled in the spirit. Then came the breakthrough! WOW! Satan shivers when this woman focuses on touching the Master!

And to hear her sing the song of the Lord early in the morning.... What a blessing as she worships early in the morning while preparing for work. What a precious heritage our children have.

Her children stand and bless her; so does her husband. He praises her with these words: "There are many fine women in the world, but you are the best of them all!" Prov 31:27-29TLB

Happy Birthday, Glenda!!!!

Happy Mother's Day

We are celebrating Mother's Day with our family today. This is the first time that we have had the opportunity in seveal years to spend Mother's Day with our children. It is an awesome day.

Jimmy is still in Iraq, but will be leaving for R&R on Tuesday and will arrive in Texas on Thursday evening if all goes well. Unfortunately, we will be unable to see him since the children are in school and we cannot make the journey due to work schedules. I am grateful that he is getting to spend 18 days with his family.

I hope that all is well with you and your family and that you have enjoyed the day with your family as well.

By the way.... Keep the faith!

CARRY ON!

A Week Ago....

This has been a very busy couple of weeks for me.  Business has picked up a bit, and I am grateful.  Last Wednesday, while sitting alongside the interstate  near waiting for an associate near Ashland, Ky, I received a call from some of our dearest friends in Virginia.  They were in a crisis and needed prayer.  Their son, Scott, was enroute to the Potomac Hospital in Woodbridge, VA by ambulance.  In a few minutes they called again, to tell me the news that Scott had arrived at the hospital and within the ten minutes between calls, he had suffered a massive heart attack and went to be with the Lord.  This was very shocking to everyone.  Of course, the Simmons' were devastated.

As I sat there in the car, the words of the psalmist came to me:  "In my distress, I cried unto the Lord and He heard me!"  My mind raced back to the first time that I had met Scott.  He was in a very difficult situation.  He was almost at the bottom.  I remember the day that Scott finally, with great sincerity, called upon the Lord, yielding his life to the Master.  It was just over two years ago.  Scott's life was never the same again.

I was asked to officiate at the services for my friend.  It was a very sweet time as more people than the chapel could hold, packed into the seats to remember Scott.  It was a moving service as his friend Monty came to the podium and gave a tribute that brought tears to everyone's eyes.  I ministered a message from Luke 15 concerning the father's love for the prodigal.  What a moment as several have called to ask the Lord to come into their lives.  

Scott was a truck driver for Stephens Transport, Inc.  He was in attendance every Sunday morning for the sermon at the church where I pastored by means of cellular phone.  Every week, a cell phone was placed near the sound speaker so that he could participate in the service wherever he was.  He was interested in the scripture and would listen by the hour to the scripture on tape, often calling to ask for my interpretation of the passage to which he had listened.  

Glenda and I have often questioned God's purpose regarding our ministry in Virginia.  Last Sunday, I said 'so long' to one who returned to the Father while I was pastoring in Virginia.  He had run the race and had run it well!  It could well be the reason that God sent me to Virginia.  I was grateful that I had been a part of God's design.

Dear friend, be not weary in doing well, for you will reap a harvest for the seed that you sow! 

Please keep Debbie, Thelma, Bill, and Rita in your prayers as they pass through these difficult days!  

CARRY ON!!!!!

This is the day....

I am excited about the things that the Lord is doing among those who are passionately seeking His Face! We are seeing healings in each of our services, bondages broken, addictions cast out, and joy infused!

Isn't this what it is all about? The scripture is very plain when it declares that the "joy of the Lord is our strength!" This past few months has been a stretch for Glenda and me, but it is awesome to rest in the knowledge that the Lord is our strength.

Someone wrote and asked what it was that we were doing with ourselves nowadays. Several have inquired as to whether we are retired! NOT HARDLY!!!! We are just in transition into the next phase of our ministry.

Glenda is the manager of a wireless phone store here in our area. She is working a lot of hours trying to get things up to speed. The company that she went to work for has recently been bought out by a larger company, so there have been transitional issues with that area of her life as well as on a personal level. Things are beginning to level out and soon it will be a typical work week for her.

I am still working to get a small business off the ground. The industry I am involved with is somewhat difficult to infiltrate, but I am confident that it will pay off someday soon! In the meantime, I am taking advantage of the opportunity to seek the Lord, work as much as I can get the opportunity, and minister as the doors open. Some days ago, I was seeking the Lord and telling Him about all my situations, and He reminded me that He had not failed to meet our needs in the 37 years that we have been married, and this was not going to be the year that He failed to meet them.

A man of God recently spoke a Word to me: "This season of your ministry will be greater that the seasons of the past! Plod ON!" What an encouraging word from the Lord. Each month it seems that we are falling behind financially, but God has promised! And He always keeps His word!

This week end, Glenda and I will be ministering in Kentucky for Sunday AM and PM. I feel that God has a special word for the pastor and the congregation. Please remember to pray for us as we travel in ministry that we will hear from the Lord for each of the ministries that we will touch, that we will be the vessels that God will use to encourage.

For many years, I have tried to be an encourager of the believer and especially those who have devoted their lives to ministry. The other day, I was feeling a bit downhearted. Then I recieved a call from a brother who was in a spiritual crisis. I began to speak hope and faith to him by the Word of the Lord. Suddenly, I realized that what I was speaking to my brother, was a word for me as well! I began to feel encouraged in the Lord. The circumstances have not yet changed, but the outlook is better than the downlook!

Look up, dear friend! When you look up, you are less likely to fall. When you look up, you are less likely to see the dirt! When you look up, you will see the blessings of His provision! So..... Look Up!

While walking down the street today, a man came up to me and stopped me. He shared a need, and we simply prayed together on the street. When we left, he shook hands with me and left a small cash offering in my hand. It was greatly needed and most appreciated! It was more than a monetary gift! It was a word of encouragement to me that God knows my needs. And one never knows when God will use one to meet the need of another... So Carry On and do the thing that God is speaking to you!

I look forward to your response to this blog each time I send it out! CARRY ON!

Powerful Prophetic Conference...

I have just returned from Jonesboro, AR where I participated in a Prophetic and Apostolic conference at the Freedom Worship Center on Hasbrook Road.  Watch this site for more information regarding this powerful week end.  

Bishop Alva Wilson was the host and we were blessed beyond measure as the Lord manifested His presence in our midst.

HE LIVES!

What a glorious thought that He ever liveth!  It is our prayer for you that you be encouraged in the faith and that the grace of the risen Savior will be multiplied in your life.

I will be in Jonesboro, AR on Thursday and Friday of this week at a Re-Eagle Conference with Bishop Alva Wilson.  I will be speaking in the Thursday evening session.  I would ask that you pray for this retreat of Christian workers, that we will seen the manifestations of healing and deliverance!

Our son, Shane has returned from a successful mission trip to Guatemala.  He was ill during the trip and had to come home early, but the power of the Lord was manifest in the services where he was before leaving and several healings and manifestations of the Holy Spirit were made known.

Please keep Glenda and me in your prayers for release of ministry and financial needs that somewhat are overwhelming us at this time.  God is faithful who has promised.  He always has met every need and will continue to do so!

We love each of you and look forward to hearing from you.

Keep the faith!  CARRY ON!

Sorry about the delay!

WOW! It has been a long time since I have had the chance to get online long enough to add to the blog! We do no have the capability to get online at the house, and while I do get emails on my blackberry, I have not been online long enough to catch up on the blog!

The picture at the right is the latest that I received of my youngest grandson. He is definitely growing! He is quite the personality. His older brother Jaxson and sister, Juliet, are doing well after a brief season of colds and flu like symptoms. Be sure to keep Jimmy and his family in prayer while Jimmy is in Iraq.

During the past weeks, Glenda and I have been blessed to conduct services in churches in the surrounding area. We have been blessed with testimonies of healing and deliverance. It is so exciting to have the opportunity to minister and see results in the altar. Please remember us in prayer as we continue to pursue the calling of the Lord that is upon our lives.

Yesterday was great as we had the opportunity to fill the pulpit for Jacob's Well, shere our oldest son, Shane, is pastor. Shane is in Guatemala on a missions journey this week. The altar was filled with hungry hearts seeking for the manifestation of the miraculous. We are believing the Word that came to us from the Lord that this year will be a season of the miraculous. Jesus declared that there would be signs that followed them who believe, and we have determined by the Spirit that this is the day for such miracles to happen among the hungry hearts of those who will receive.

If you would like for us to minister in your community, contact us by email at whetstone.r@gmail.com We would love to come and minister to you. This is a faith-based ministry reaching into communities and churches across this nation.

May the blessing of the Lord be upon you!

CARRY ON!