Funeral and prison. Going to be busy

7/29/11 Friday
This will be a busy day for us. I got up and out on the farm early and got a phone call from a state agency that may help us purchase the equipment needed to pursue the Building Performance Analyst vocation we trained for. Of course there is paperwork and other things I must do to qualify, but we expected that.

At 2:00 we will be attending the funeral of a dear brother in the Lord, who passed away suddenly after getting pneumonia. He was an elder in all things Christian, a gentleman with deep insight and profound vision, who’s depth of spirituality always kept me in awe. Ken would see the positive in every situation, when I had a hard time finding it. I was blessed to meet with him almost weekly at the Hebrew and he greatly enhanced my walk with the Lord. He is missed already but I know it was God’s time for him to come home so look forward to seeing him when we also get there.

After the funeral we must rush home, where I will change clothes and head right back out to meet others to ride to Fort Stockton. There we will be going to the Lynaugh prison unit for a time of prayer and sharing with our brothers in white, who are incarcerated there. We call them brothers in white because Texas State prisons require all the inmates to wear white uniforms, and it’s a lot nicer than calling them convicts, inmates, or prisoners, just a little more respectful. For while they may be in prison because they committed crimes, they are no better or worse than any of the rest of us.
All of us have sinned and all of us come short of the glory of God, but it is through the death of Jesus we are forgiven, and in God’s eyes we are equal. There is no room in the kingdom of God to look down our noses at any one. None of us have room to judge, and in fact that is a dangerous thing to do. God is the judge and part of His judgment will be based on how we judge others, along with every word we say. It is by our words we will be judged so be careful what you say about another.

Saturday I don’t have anything scheduled but Sunday I head to Lamesa, where I will be heading up the prayer and share time with the brothers in white at the Smith prison unit. I look forward to it. That prison has been on lockdown for over a week and just was released from it, so it should be interesting. The lockdown is a yearly event when the entire prison is scoured for weapons, drugs and drug paraphernalia, and any other contraband. I remember those days and it is always a time of stress, when all privileges are put on hold till all is done. It is so good to be free, and even better to have Jesus as my savior so I am free not only from prison but also from all the things that had once enslaved me. My life is a gift and I remind myself of how blessed I am and of the mercy and grace that God has shown me, all the time, lest I should forget and fall back into those things that destroyed me before.

Time to take a shower and get ready for the funeral. We are blessed to have a shower now, which only happened through the love and generosity of our friends in Midland, and greatly enjoy the convenience it offers. Plus on hot days (every day lately) we can get into it and cool off.