The students at Fannin Elementary collected money to buy food for the Buckets of Hope for Haiti. They collected enough to fill 15 buckets! What a great job. Here are a few photos of them packing the buckets.







Thanks for the help, kids. A special shout-out to Risa Marx for her efforts in spearheading this!

"Who is like unto thee, O LORD, among the gods? who is like thee, glorious in holiness, fearful in praises, doing wonders?" (Exodus 15:11) Our finite minds would never grasp the idea of holiness if not for the revelation granted to us in the Scriptures. God’s "separateness" requires even the awesome four-faced, sixwinged Seraphim to "rest not day and night, saying, Holy, holy, holy, LORD God Almighty, which was, and is, and is to come" (Revelation 4:8). Samuel’s gentle mother, praying before the tabernacle, was no doubt moved by the Spirit of God to proclaim, "There is none holy as the LORD: for there is none beside thee" (1 Samuel 2:2). Her short statement of faith is the core of holiness—the separate unique character that only the Creator of the universe can possess. Those who have been "born again" (John 3:3) are called "saints" (Romans 1:7, etc.) when they were "created in righteousness and true holiness" (Ephesians 4:24). Our "holiness" is part of the "gift of God" from the One who is holy, "without which no man shall see the Lord" (Hebrews 12:14). Because our Creator, Lord, and King is "righteous in all his ways, and holy in all his works" (Psalm 145:17), it should come as no surprise that "as he which hath called you is holy, so be ye holy in all manner of conversation; Because it is written, Be ye holy; for I am holy" (1 Peter 1:15-16). The "great and precious promises" (2 Peter 1:4) given to us by our gracious Lord are the spiritual means by which we can "cleanse ourselves from all filthiness of the flesh and spirit, perfecting holiness in the fear of God" (2 Corinthians 7:1). Our destiny is sure. Our duty is clear. "Yet shall I be glorious in the eyes of the LORD, and my God shall be my strength" (Isaiah 49:5).

Just a couple of photos on how NOT to pack a truck full of Buckets of Hope. This truck just came in and we couldn't even get the door open because the load had shifted. Buckets weren't palletized correctly, not stacked properly, and they were allowed to shift on the way to Cornerstone.

Did I say we had a problem?



Approximately 650 buckets and they were a mess!



A close-up view of the absolute mess that our volunteers had to work with. Thank you, Cornerstone members, for not grumbling too much (heh!) and getting these off the truck.

Oh, by the way, they had put everything on OVERSIZED pallets so everything had to be taken off and then re-palletized here. The good news is, 650 more families will get to eat when these arrive.

"For in the time of trouble he shall hide me in his pavilion: in the secret of his tabernacle shall he hide me; he shall set me up upon a rock." (Psalm 27:5) In this psalm of praise, David expresses his confidence in the Lord, even though "the wicked, even mine enemies and my foes, came upon me to eat up my flesh" (v. 2). In spite of the danger, he looks to God for safety. "The LORD is my light and my salvation; whom shall I fear? the LORD is the strength of my life; of whom shall I be afraid?" (v. 1). Why did God preserve David? The answer is at least twofold. First, David had a heart for God. "One thing have I desired of the LORD, that will I seek after; that I may dwell in the house of the LORD all the days of my life, to behold the beauty of the LORD, and to inquire in his temple" (v. 4). "Thy face, LORD, will I seek" (v. 8). "Teach me thy way, O LORD" (v. 11). The second reason is the nature of God Himself. God, by His very nature, hates evil and extends grace toward His own. He is pictured here as a warrior conquering the evil enemies of David. His laws forbid their actions; His gospel robbed these evildoers of their grip; His final kingdom will be rid of them. Until God's justice, His gospel, and His purpose all fail, we can be sure that He will act. In our text, David is hidden in the Lord's "pavilion." The word, which literally means a protective covering, was used for the tent of the commander-in-chief. Here, with the commander-in-chief, is the most fortified, guarded, and safe area of the battleground. If the pavilion falls, the battle is lost and God has failed. Hidden in His pavilion, we are as safe as He. He sees to it that we are not frightened (v. 13) amid the din of battle, and we shall share in the ultimate victory. In this world, we have tumultuous war; in the next, unbroken peace. Assured of the outcome, we can "wait on the LORD: |and| be of good courage" (v. 14).

Change your clocks before you go to bed ...

You'll be sorry if you don't!

How would you like to deal with this guy? This is an artist's rendition of what Michael the Archangel might look like. We won't know until we get to heaven but I think it's pretty good.

Tomorrow night at the 6pm hour, we will deal with Jude 9, where we find a strange description of Michael and satan fighting over the dead body of Moses! Wow ... what's that all about.

I will tell you ... See you tomorrow!

Michael R. working with a driver to get a load through our front door.



Our volunteers palletized and shrink-wrapped pallets of 24 & 36 buckets. They could only be stacked 5 buckets high total due to the height and the total weight for the load.



Steve C. was an enormous help as he prepped the pallets to be stacked.

I will put up more photos as I have the time. The North American Mission Board (NAM and the Texas Baptist Men (TBM) have requested photos of our operation. Gerry Jones, one of the key men in the TBM told me that our people had put together an efficient receiving center and he was proud of us.

I am proud of YOU ... everyone of you that took your valuable time to come by, carry a bucket, count money, prepare food, or whatever you did. God bless you richly!

We had our ladies ready to check in the people bringing buckets. Here, Gayla G. and Alvina W. work the "overflow table" ... they are smiling because we were just starting!



Here is the Primary check-in table manned by (l to r) Linda H., Mary C., Sharon E., Monica and a driver. Sharon E. was instrumental in reconciling the money received with the buckets that arrived. She handled over $5,000 cash the first day.

I'm sorry ... this week has been a blur of activity; along with regular church activities, we have been receiving the Buckets of Hope from all over Texas. Some with one or two buckets, some with a trailer load ... they came all week.

I have a few minutes now so I will drop some photos here for you to enjoy. While you are enjoying, would you take a minute and lift a prayer to our Heavenly Father, thanking Him for the people involved and for the safe handling so far.



Here I am with a couple of men who brought a trailer load of buckets. They sure were glad to see all the volunteers that we had to help with the unloading process.



Michael R. was instrumental in seeing that we had a plan and that we worked the plan. Even for our small part, the logistics had to be worked out in advance where we wouldn't be swamped.