Monday, December 24, 2007

Merry Christmas!

Now there were in the same country shepherds living out in the fields, keeping watch over their flock by night.  And behold, an angel of the Lord stood before them, and the glory of the Lord shone around them, and they were greatly afraid.  Then the angel said to them, “Do not be afraid, for behold, I bring you good tidings of great joy which will be to all people. For there is born to you this day in the city of David a Savior, who is Christ the Lord. And this will be the sign to you: You will find a Babe wrapped in swaddling cloths, lying in a manger.”

And suddenly there was with the angel a multitude of the heavenly host praising God and saying: “Glory to God in the highest, And on earth peace, goodwill toward men!”  Luke 2:8-14 (NKJV)

Margaret and I wish you and yours a blessed Christmas!

 

Here is a classic illustration of the reason for the season, Paul Harvey's modern day parable of the incarnation of Christ. (Make sure your sound is on)

 

In His name,
Chaplain Sam Houchins

Monday, December 17, 2007

Tuesday, December 04, 2007

Mike Huckabee

This is a rather long video (42 minutes) but, I believe, well worth the time. A speech Rev. Huckabee gave to a group of pastors:

(if you don't see a video above)

In His name,
Chaplain Sam Houchins

Friday, September 07, 2007

Thursday, August 16, 2007

A taste of the future?

This short video, from the American Family Association, shows a little sample of what can happen if the Senate passes S.1105, the "hate crimes" bill:

(if you don't see a video above)

In His name,
Chaplain Sam Houchins

Tuesday, August 14, 2007

Five Months of Confusion

I have not been posting very often to any of my blogs.  Frankly, the past five months have been very unsettling, beginning in April when our ministry finances were turned upside down.  We have not received a check from TFC since March, when we got a check to reimburse us for our February ministry expenses.

Since that March check God, through many wonderful individuals and churches, has miraculously provided for our personal needs plus covered our ministry expenses.  Praise the Lord!  We believe God has affirmed to us each month that he wants us to serve at the chapel in Elkton.

We fully expected this month to be authorized to resume being able to submit our monthly ministry expenses for reimbursement.  Unfortunately, this latest expense submission was again denied.  And, as before, we were not informed that it had been denied.  Margaret found out that it had been denied after the expected check did not arrive and she called to find out what the delay was.

In my mind I keep coming back to Paul's statement in 1 Corinthians 14:33, "For God is not the author of confusion but of peace, as in all the churches of the saints." (NKJV)

This entire process has been incredibly draining, distracting, and disheartening!  Our personal relationship with TFC has been strained to the breaking point on more than one occasion.

Please continue to keep us in prayer.  Our only desire is for us to be in God's will.

In His name,
Chaplain Sam Houchins

Wednesday, July 25, 2007

Visitors From Virginia

Our daughter-in-law, Liane, and granddaughter, Anna, came to visit yesterday.  They were spending the week with friends in North East, MD and came to visit with us for a few hours.

Herb Garden

Before they came inside Margaret showed Liane around the yard.  In this picture they are checking out the herb garden.  That's Anna in the background waiting to go inside.

Anna 1

Margaret keeps an assortment of toys on hand for visiting kids.  Anna got the building blocks out to build a castle

Anna 2

No one had eaten lunch yet so we went to a local restaurant, the Wagon Wheel, to eat.

Wagon Wheel 1

While we were waiting to be served Anna colored and the Margaret and Liane visited.

Wagon Wheel 2

Our server saw me taking pictures and offered to get one of us together

Wagon Wheel 3

Anna was fascinated by the restaurant's big aquarium

We went back home after lunch but I didn't get any more pictures before they left...I had a nap attack.smile_sad

In His name,
Chaplain Sam Houchins

Margaret's Flowers

Here are some more pictures of some of the beautiful flowers in Margaret's garden:

Celosia

Celosia

Day Liily 1

She has a number of different kinds of Day Lily plants

Day Lily 2

Day Lily 3

Day Lily 4

In His name,
Chaplain Sam Houchins

AECC Northeast Conference 2007

July 13-14 Chaplains Tom Kramer, "Hoppy" Hopkins, and I went to Waverly, NY to attend the annual AECC Northeast Regional Conference.  We stayed in a lovely Victorian Bed and Breakfast in nearby Sayre, PA, the BriMarie Inn.

Waverly 1 2007

My room at the BriMarie

Waverly 6 2007

Chaplain "Hoppy", second from left, and Chaplain Tom next to him.
(see more pictures)

Some of you may remember that my ordination was at this conference last year.

The first session was Friday night followed by a time of fellowship.  I gave a presentation about our TFC ministry during one of the Saturday morning sessions.  Lunch was provided by the host church and no one left hungry.  The final activity before we left was communion.  It was great to see some of the folks we met last year.

Margaret and Tom's wife, Linda, did not go with us this year.  They were in D.C. for a Women of Faith conference.

In His name,
Chaplain Sam Houchins

Saturday, July 21, 2007

CUFI 2007

This past Monday Margaret and I went to Washington, D.C. for the week. We were blessed with an all-expenses-paid trip, including attendance at the Christians United For Israel (CUFI) 2007 Conference. An elderly couple that support our ministry wanted to attend the conference but could not due to failing health. They decided to send us as their representatives.

01Westin1

We stayed at the Westin Embassy Row Hotel
(now the Fairfax at Embassy Row)

03Westin3

We had a great room

The conference sessions Tuesday were held at the Wardman Park Marriott Hotel. The conference ran shuttle busses from the other hotels back/forth to the Wardman. There were over 3,000 attendees. When we got to the Wardman we went to breakout rooms according to CUFI Region. Delaware is part of Region12 which also includes Virginia, West Virginia, and D.C.

10Tue1

Regional Director Dr. James "General" Hutchens moderated our group.

The screen at the front of the room displayed a closed circuit TV signal from the main meeting room. The morning session was a Middle East Briefing with three panelist: Frank Gaffney, Founder and President of the Center for Security Policy; Robert Satloff, Executive Director of The Washington Institute; and Brigitte Gabrielle, Founder of the American Congress for Truth. David Brog, CUFI Executive Director moderated.

A box lunch was provided followed by an afternoon discussion about our Congressional meetings tomorrow.

Tuesday evening was the "Night to Honor Israel" at the Washington Convention Center. There were more than 5,000 at the three-hour event. (My camera batteries were dead) Guest speakers included:

  • Ambassador Sallai Meridor, Israeli Ambassador to the U.S.;
    .
  • Benjamin Netanyahu, former Israel Prime Minister (via video);
    .
  • Ambassador Dore Gold, former Israeli Ambassador to the U.S.; and
    .
  • Newt Gingrich, former Speaker of the House

Tuesday was a LONG day!

14Capital1

Wednesday morning we took our shuttle bus to the Capitol to visit our Delaware congressmen.

16Longworth Bldg1

Our first appointment was 11:00 A.M. in the Longworth Building at Representative Castle's office.

17LongworthBldg2

The Delaware CUFI delegates assembled outside the office for prayer before our meeting with Senator Castle's aid.
(left to right: Elizabeth; Chaplain Mary Beth; Pastor Ron, our spokesperson; Margaret; and Pastor Larrie - Elizabeth's husband; (not shown in this picture was Jo, from Newark, who joined us later)

Next we walked to the opposite side of the Capitol to the Russell Building for a 2:00 P.M. meeting with Senator Biden's aid. Finally, we went to the Dirksen-Hart Building to visit Senator Carper's office. We did not have an appointment at Carper's office but left a packet of information for him.

21Holocust Museum

Thursday was a free day and Margaret and I decided to spend it at the Holocaust Museum. It was a very sobering day.

Friday morning we checked out of the hotel and returned home. (see more pictures from the trip)

In His name,
Chaplain Sam Houchins

Friday, June 22, 2007

Captioned Creation videos for download

The following is from the latest issue of Associates For Biblical Research's newsletter:

Ian Juby is producing a new creation video series, The Complete Creation. The first offering, "Creation or Evolution: WHO CARES?" is posted for viewing on godtube:
http://www.godtube.com/view_video.php?viewkey=2eff11b8ecd9e9ed5bd9
as well as youtube:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=157xEhagMn0

...and is available for sale as an instant download in high-definition at http://genesisweek.com. The series is intended to be exhaustive, "starting right from square one and covering all bases." It is meant to be a valuable resource for Sunday School classes, personal studies, etc. The hearing impaired will be blessed by the open captions included, an unfortunately rare thing in Christian-produced videos.

In His name,
Chaplain Sam Houchins

Saturday, June 16, 2007

Flowers at Home

Today is a Saturday that we don't have any ministry activities scheduled.  It was nice not having to wake to an alarm clock this morning and to wake in our own bed.  I took advantage of the beautiful weather and took some pictures of a few of Margaret's flowers that are in our front yard.

Bergamot

Bergamot - as in Earl Gray Tea

Stella d'Oro

Stella d'Oro - One of my personal favorites

Petunitas and Angel Face Blue

Petunias on the left and Angel Face Blue on the right

Angel Face Blue

More Angel Face Blue

Columbine

Columbine

Tiger Liliy

Tiger Lily - another favorite of mine

Consider the lilies of the field, how they grow: they neither toil nor spin; and yet I say to you that even Solomon in all his glory was not arrayed like one of these.  (Matthew 6:28b-29) NKJV

In His name,
Chaplain Sam Houchins

Avery - 6 Months Later

Our friend Chuck Talley came by the chapel with his daughter Avery.  Avery was born last November and was in this blog before she was one day old.

Chuck & Avery

Proud father and little Avery

Avery and Margaret

She likes to have her picture taken!

(see all of the pictures)

In His name,
Chaplain Sam Houchins

Sunday, June 10, 2007

Garden Club 50th Anniversary Show

Margaret is a very active member of the Middletown-Odessa Garden Club, a member of the Delaware Federation of Garden Clubs.  This year is the club's 50th anniversary and last week they had a flower show.

Hat plus

 Margaret had nine entries in the show and won one first-place, two second-place and three third-place awards.

Hat

I think her hat entry is gorgeous and should have won first-prize in the hat category!

In His name,
Chaplain Sam Houchins

Friday, June 01, 2007

Hugs

I expect most people don't automatically think of hugs when thinking about truck drivers.  We specialize in hugs in our ministry.  Many of our visitors receive hugs when they arrive and/or when they depart the chapel.  For me hugs are a spontaneous thing.  I don't go through some mental exercise for each visitor to decide if I will hug them or not - it just automatically happens, or not.

Very few people I have met in my life have shared with me that they are uncomfortable with hugs.  Such folks are definitely in the minority.

For almost a year driver Carl visited our chapel once or twice each week.  He was on a dedicated run.  That means he drove the same route every week beginning and ending at his home in Ohio.  Carl and I got to fellowship enough to become good friends.  Then, as happens in the trucking business, Carl was told that he was to be changed to another route.

Carl had shared with me about his childhood which had largely been lacking in verbal or physical expressions of love.  He had also shared about his very difficult marriage to a woman involved in a corrupt form of religion that left him, as a Christian, excluded from much of the normal marriage fellowship opportunities.

During our last visit, while sharing a meal together, Carl told me, "I'm going to miss the hugs.  This is the only place I get hugs."  I had no idea...

Have you hugged anyone today?  Make sure you do!

In His name,
Chaplain Sam Houchins

Monday, May 21, 2007

Punalicious

I wondered why the baseball was getting bigger. Then it hit me.

Police were called to a daycare where a three-year-old was resisting a rest.

Did you hear about the guy whose whole left side was cut off? He's all right now.

The roundest knight at King Arthur's round table was Sir Cumference.

To write with a broken pencil is pointless.

When fish are in schools they sometimes take debate.

A thief who stole a calendar got twelve months.

A thief fell and broke his leg in wet cement. He became a hardened criminal.

Thieves who steal corn from a garden could be charged with stalking.

We'll never run out of math teachers because they always multiply.

When the smog lifts in Los Angeles, U C L A.

The math professor went crazy with the blackboard. He did a number on it.

The professor discovered that her theory of earthquakes was on shaky ground.

The dead batteries were given out free of charge.

If you take a laptop computer for a run you could jog your memory.

A dentist and a manicurist fought tooth and nail.

A bicycle can't stand alone; it is two tired.

The optometrist fell into his lens grinder and made a spectacle of himself.

Time flies like an arrow; fruit flies like an orange.

[forwarded by Craig Woods]

Source: http://www.mikeysFunnies.com

In His name,
Chaplain Sam Houchins

Friday, May 18, 2007

This Man Can Move Anything (Single-handed)

How did the ancients build Stonehenge? This man demonstrates a possible solution.

(if you don't see a movie above)

In His name,
Chaplain Sam Houchins

Tuesday, May 15, 2007

The Rest of Our Weekend

Last Friday, after all of the activities related to our daughter's graduation, we went to sister Trudy and brother-in-law Dick's home.  They are gracious enough to let us use their spare bedroom when we are in the area.  It was about 11:00 PM when we got to bed.

We both slept until 11:00 AM Saturday morning!  The past few weeks has been stressful and we finally ran out of steam and slept twelve hours.  Trudy fixed us brunch and we visited with her for a few hours.  Dick was out of town with his tour bus driving job.

Daughter Sheri called in the afternoon and said that her son, our grandson, Jonathan's Junior Prom was tonight and he had requested a special dinner for he and his date, Jacklyn.  The catch was that Sheri and her husband were going to be at a friend's wedding and she couldn't fix or serve the meal.  She did have all of the ingredients on hand.  Of course, Margaret agreed to take care of the dinner.  Margaret borrowed a table cloth and two special glasses from Trudy and we drove to Sheri's house to do the dinner.

Table is Set

The roses were a graduation gift from us to Sheri.  They fit right in with the occasion.

Prom Dinner 3

Jacklyn and Jonathan (It's sparkling cider in the glasses)

Prom Dinner 5

The waitress looks familiar

Tory the Hunter 1

While the kids were having dinner, Tory the cat was trying to figure out how to get into the gerbil's home
(more pictures)

Margaret cleaned up after dinner and we went back to Trudy's house.  Dick was home by then and the four of us went to dinner at a Mexican restaurant they like.

Mexican Dinner

l to r: Dick, Trudy, Margaret and me

Sunday morning we attended church with Sheri and then she took us out to lunch for Mother's day.  After lunch we drove home, unloaded the car, repacked for one night and went to the chapel.  We stayed at the chapel Sunday night because of an 8:00 AM Monday meeting at the chapel plus errands we had to do in the Elkton area.  Monday evening we finally got back home and were able to sleep in our own bed (which we hadn't done since leaving home for the chapel last Wednesday morning).

In His name,
Chaplain Sam Houchins

Saturday, May 12, 2007

Daughter Sheri's Graduation

Our daughter Sheri graduated from the local community college yesterday with a two year degree in Business Administration.  She graduated with honors.

That is quite an achievement when you figure: she is a mom of two boys, the youngest she homeschools; she is a wife; she and her husband, Patrick, run an excavation business from their home.  With all of that, she took her courses at night and via the Internet.  We are sooooo proud of her.  Congratulations Sheri!!!

Her goal now is to continue her education toward a degree in accounting and become a CPA.

Graduation 5

Sheri, second from the left, at the start of the commencement.  There were over 500 graduates.  The ceremony was held in a tent on the college grounds.

Graduation 7

The diploma was presented by the college president.

Graduation 8

Mom was in tears while Sheri was on the platform.  On Margaret's right: her sister, Trudy; grandson Jonathan and his date, Jacklyn.

Graduation 12

l to r: Margaret, son-in-law Patrick, daughter Sheri, grandsons Patrick Sean and Jonathan; John - Sheri's dad

(more pictures)

A special thanks to the two families who covered our costs to travel to Virginia and attend the ceremony.

In His name,
Chaplain Sam Houchins

Thursday, May 10, 2007

5,000 Churches Create Social Network

 Interacting with the computer generation:

More than 5,000 churches have created online communities to enhance their weekly services on the new social networking site, MyChurch.org. Pastors and parishioners meet online to write blogs, share pictures, and stay connected throughout the week in an effort to extend church between Sundays...

Source: View Press Release

In His name,
Chaplain Sam Houchins

Tuesday, May 08, 2007

Why God Made Moms

Brilliant answers given by 2nd grade school children to the following questions:

Why did God make mothers?

1. She's the only one who knows where the scotch tape is.
2. Mostly to clean the house.
3. To help us out of there when we were getting born.

How did God make mothers?

1. He used dirt, just like for the rest of us.
2. Magic plus super powers and a lot of stirring
3. God made my mom just the same like he made me. He just used bigger parts.

What ingredients are mothers made of?

1. God makes mothers out of clouds and angel hair and everything nice in the world and one dab of mean.
2. They had to get their start from men's bones. Then they mostly use string, I think.

Why did God give you your mother and not some other mom?

1. We're related
2. God knew she likes me a lot more than other people's moms like me.

What kind of little girl was your mom?

1. My mom has always been my mom and none of that other stuff.
2. I don't know because I wasn't there, but my guess would be pretty bossy.
3. They say she used to be nice.

What did Mom need to know about Dad before she married him?

1. His last name.
2. She had to know his background. Like is he a crook? Does he get drunk on beer?
3. Does he make at least $800 a year? Did he say NO to drugs and YES to chores?

Why did your mom marry your dad?

1. My dad makes the best spaghetti in the world. And my mom eats a lot.
2. She got too old to do anything else with him.
3. My grandma says that mom didn't have her thinking cap on.

Who's the boss at your house?

1. Mom doesn't want to be boss, but she has to because dad's such a goof ball.
2. Mom. You can tell by room inspection. She sees the stuff under the bed.
3. I guess Mom is, but only because she has a lot more to do than Dad.

What's the difference between moms & dads?

1. Moms works at work and works at home & dads just go to work at work.
2. Moms know how to talk to teachers without scaring them.
3. Dads are taller & stronger, but moms have all the real power 'cause that's who you got to ask if you want to sleep over at your friend's.
4. Moms have magic; they make you feel better without medicine.

What does your mom do in her spare time?

1. My mom says she don't do spare time.
2. Nothing. She pays bills all day long.

What would it take to make your mom perfect?

1. On the inside she's already perfect. Outside, I think some kind of plastic surgery.
2. Diet. You know her hair. I'd diet, maybe blue.

If you could change one thing about your Mom, what would it be?

1. She has this weird thing about me keeping my room clean. I'd get rid of that.
2. I'd make my Mom smarter. Then she would know it was my sister who did it and not me.
3. I would like for her to get rid of those invisible eyes on the back of her head.

[forwarded by Adon Brownell]

today'sTHOT============================

Children are natural mimics - they act like us in spite of all our attempts to teach them good manners.

=======================================

Source: Mickey's Funnies

In His name,
Chaplain Sam Houchins

Monday, May 07, 2007

Snow in May

Driver/Volunteer Chaplain Rich sent me these two cell phone pictures that he took last week while driving in New Mexico.  He thought he was done with driving in snow for this season!

Snow1

He said that his defroster could barely keep up.

Snow2

In His name,
Chaplain Sam Houchins

Wednesday, May 02, 2007

The Folded Napkin - A Truckers Story

I try not to be biased, but I had my doubts about hiring Stevie. His placement counselor assured me that he would be a good, reliable busboy. But I had never had a mentally handicapped employee and wasn't sure I wanted one. I wasn't sure how my customers would react to Stevie. He was short, a little dumpy with the smooth facial features and thick-tongued speech of Downs Syndrome.

I wasn't worried about most of my trucker customers because truckers don't generally care who buses tables as long as the meatloaf platter is good and the pies are homemade. The four-wheeler drivers were the ones who concerned me; the mouthy college kids traveling to school; the yuppie snobs who secretly polish their silverware with their napkins for fear of catching some dreaded "truck stop germ" the pairs of white-shirted business men on expense accounts who think every truck stop waitress wants to be flirted with

I knew those people would be uncomfortable around Stevie so I closely watched him for the first few weeks. I shouldn't have worried. After the first week, Stevie had my staff wrapped around his stubby little finger, and within a month my truck regulars had adopted him as their official truck stop mascot.

After that, I really didn't care what the rest of the customers thought of him He was like a 21-year-old in blue jeans and Nikes, eager to laugh and eager to please, but fierce in his attention to his duties. Every salt and pepper shaker was exactly in its place, not a bread crumb or coffee spill was visible when Stevie got done with the table.

Our only problem was persuading him to wait to clean a table until after the customers were finished. He would hover in the background, shifting his weight from one foot to the other, scanning the dining room until a table was empty. Then he would scurry to the empty table and carefully bus dishes and glasses onto his cart and meticulously wipe the table up with a practiced flourish of his rag.  If he thought a customer was watching, his brow would pucker with added concentration.  He took pride in doing his job exactly right, and you had to love how hard he tried to please each and every person he met

Over time, we learned that he lived with his mother, a widow who was disabled after repeated surgeries for cancer. They lived on their Social Security benefits in public housing two miles from the truck stop. Their social worker, who stopped to check on him every so often, admitted they had fallen between the cracks. Money was tight, and what I paid him was probably the difference between them being able to live together and Stevie being sent to a group home.

That's why the restaurant was a gloomy place that morning last August, the first morning in three years that Stevie missed work. He was at the Mayo Clinic in Rochester getting a new valve or something put in his heart. His social worker said that people with Downs Syndrome often have heart problems at an early age so this wasn't unexpected, and there was a good chance he would come through the surgery in good shape and be back at work in a few months.

A ripple of excitement ran through the staff later that morning when word came that he was out of surgery, in recovery, and doing fine. Frannie, the head waitress, let out a war whoop and did a little dance in the aisle when she heard the good news.

Belle Ringer, one of our regular trucker customers, stared at the sight of this 50-year-old grandmother of four doing a victory shimmy beside his table. Frannie blushed, smoothed her apron and shot Belle Ringer a withering look. He grinned. "OK, Frannie, what was that all about?" he asked. "We just got word that Stevie is out of surgery and going to be okay."

"I was wondering where he was. I had a new joke to tell him. What was the surgery about?"

Frannie quickly told Belle Ringer and the other two drivers sitting at his booth about Stevie's surgery, then sighed: "Yeah, I'm glad he is going to be OK," she said. "But I don't know how he and his Mom are going to handle all the bills.  From what I hear, they're barely getting by as it is."

Belle Ringer nodded thoughtfully, and Frannie hurried off to wait on the rest of her tables. Since I hadn't had time to round up a busboy to replace Stevie and really didn't want to replace him, the girls were busing their own tables that day until we decided what to do.

After the morning rush, Frannie walked into my office. She had a couple of paper napkins in her hand and a funny look on her face.

"What's up?" I asked.

"I didn't get that table where Belle Ringer and his friends were sitting cleared off after they left, and Pony Pete and Tony Tipper were sitting there when I got back to clean it off," she said. "This was folded and tucked under a coffee cup." She handed the napkin to me, and three $20 bills fell onto my desk when I opened it. On the outside, in big, bold letters, was printed "Something For Stevie".

"Pony Pete asked me what that was all about," she said, "so I told him about Stevie and his Mom and everything, and Pete looked at Tony and Tony looked at Pete, and they ended up giving me this." She handed me another paper napkin that had "Something For Stevie" scrawled on its outside. Two $50 bills were tucked within its folds. Frannie looked at me with wet, shiny eyes, shook her head and said simply: "truckers."

That was three months ago. Today is Thanksgiving, the first day Stevie is supposed to be back to work. His placement worker said he's been counting the days until the doctor said he could work, and it didn't matter at all that it was a holiday. He called 10 times in the past week, making sure we knew he was coming, fearful that we had forgotten him or that his job was in jeopardy. I arranged to have his mother bring him to work. I then met them in the parking lot and invited them both to celebrate his day back.

Stevie was thinner and paler, but couldn't stop grinning as he pushed through the doors and headed for the back room where his apron and busing cart were waiting.

"Hold up there, Stevie, not so fast," I said. I took him and his mother by their arms. "Work can wait for a minute. To celebrate you coming back, breakfast for you and your mother is on me!" I led them toward a large corner booth at the rear of the room  I could feel and hear the rest of the staff following behind as we marched through the dining room. Glancing over my shoulder, I saw booth after booth of grinning truckers empty and join the procession.

We stopped in front of the big table. Its surface was covered with coffee cups, saucers and dinner plates, all sitting slightly crooked on dozens of folded paper napkins. "First thing you have to do, Stevie, is clean up this mess," I said. I tried to sound stern.

Stevie looked at me, and then at his mother, then pulled out one of the napkins. It had "Something for Stevie" printed on the outside. As he picked it up, two $10 bills fell onto the table. Stevie stared at the money, then at all the napkins peeking from beneath the tableware, each with his name printed or scrawled on it.

I turned to his mother. "There's more than $10,000 in cash and checks on that table, all from truckers and trucking companies that heard about your problems. "Happy Thanksgiving,".

Well, it got real noisy about that time, with everybody hollering and shouting, and there were a few tears, as well. But you know what's funny? While everybody else was busy shaking hands and hugging each other, Stevie, with a big, big smile on his face, was busy clearing all the cups and dishes from the table. Best worker I ever hired.

Plant a seed and watch it grow.

Thanks to Bill H. for sharing!

In His name,
Chaplain Sam Houchins

Tuesday, May 01, 2007

Hells Best Kept Secret

Some startling statistics about modern evangelism: 

80-90% of those who are making decisions for Christ are now falling away from the faith. Modern Evangelism is producing 80-90 backsliders for every 100 decisions for Christ...

Source: BlogMinistry

In His name,
Chaplain Sam Houchins

Thursday, April 26, 2007

Jiven' For Jesus

Check out this awesome video Baby Got Book!

 

 (if you don't see a video above)

In His name,
Chaplain Sam Houchins

Saturday, April 21, 2007

Talented Son

Our son, Sam II, is a very talented videographer.  Among other things, he produces video shorts that are used to illustrate sermons at the church he and his family attend, Stafford Crossing Community Church.  The link below is a sample of the kind of work that he does, including the narration for this one.

Poison of Pornography

Awesome work for the Lord!  We are very proud of him. (Of course, that is an unbiased opinion)

In His name,
Chaplain Sam Houchins

Friday, April 20, 2007

Letter From a Christian Citizen

 Worth checking out:

Douglas Wilson, Senior Fellow of theology at New Saint Andrews College and pastor of Moscow’s Christ Church in Idaho, has authored the definitive evangelical response to Sam Harris’ Letter to a Christian Nation...

Source: ASSIST News Service Article

In His name,
Chaplain Sam Houchins

The Day They Kicked God Out of School

A thought provoking video:

 

 (If you don't see a video above)

In His name,
Chaplain Sam Houchins

Wednesday, April 18, 2007

Up To Date Business Language

I received this list today and was reminded of my 24 years in the corporate world.  I wish I had known these terms then!

BLAMESTORMING - sitting around in a group discussing why a deadline was missed or a project failed and who was responsible.

SEAGULL MANAGER - a manager who flies in, makes a lot of noise, messes up everything, and then leaves.

KEYBOARD PLAQUE - the disgusting buildup of dirt and crud found on computer keyboards.

OHNOSECOND - that minuscule fraction of time in which you realize that you've just made a BIG mistake.

PRAIRIE DOGGING - when someone yells or drops something loudly in a "cube farm" (an office full of cubicles) and all the co-workers' heads pop up over the wall to see what's going on.

PERCUSSIVE MAINTENANCE - the fine art of whacking the daylights out of an electronic device to get it to work again.

Thanks to Doris for sharing!

In His name,
Chaplain Sam Houchins

Car Crash

A woman and a man are involved in a car accident on a snowy, cold Monday morning. Both of their cars are totally demolished but amazingly neither of them is hurt.

God works in Mysterious ways.

After they crawl out of their cars, the woman says, "So you're a man. That's interesting. I'm a woman. Wow, just look at our cars, there's nothing left of them, but we're unhurt. This must be a sign from God that we should meet and be friends and live together in peace for the rest of our days."

Flattered, the man replies, "Oh yes, I agree with you completely; this must be a sign from God!"

The woman continues, "And look at this, here's another miracle. My car is completely demolished but this bottle of wine didn't break. Surely God wants us to drink this wine and celebrate our good fortune."

Then she hands the bottle to the man.

The man nods his head in agreement, opens it, drinks half the bottle, and then hands it back to the woman. The woman takes the bottle and immediately puts the cap back on, and hands it back to the man.

The man asks, "Aren't you having any?"

The woman replies, "No. I think I'll just wait for the police...."

MORAL OF THE STORY: Women are clever and crafty. Don't mess with them.

In His name,
Chaplain Sam Houchins

Monday, April 16, 2007

Sunday, April 15, 2007

I Know I've Been Changed

Friday night we had the privilege of attending the annual Teen Challenge of Philadelphia banquet.  TFC Elkton Volunteer Chaplain Rev. Allan Graham, who lives in Philadelphia, volunteers with Teen Challenge.  Allan invited Margaret and me to join him as his guest at the banquet.  The attendees included program participants, graduates, staff, family, volunteers and ministry friends.

If you are not familiar with the work of Teen Challenge it is a ministry to people dealing with chemical addictions.  Despite the organization name, they minister to men and women of all ages.  Over the years I have had the privilege of meeting many Teen Challenge graduates who are still clean years after graduating from the program.  In fact, a driver in one of our chapel Easter services was a graduate.

The theme for the banquet was "I Know I've Been Changed".  There were numerous testimonies from men and women whose lives were touched by God and delivered from drugs and/or alcohol though the Teen Challenge ministry.  What an awesome, spiritually energizing, experience to hear each and everyone of them giving God the praise for their victories.

The guest speaker, Rev. Chuck Zierle, himself a graduate, who some of his personal testimony.

Banquet

The banquet was at the Hilton on City Line Ave.  More than 380 people attended.

Choir

The Teen Challenge Choir, directed by Sherry McMillan

Allan and Ruth

Allan and his friend Ruth

Celebration

Some of our table mates (left to right): Ty, back to the camera, a graduate who now works in the program, Dan, a recent graduate and his proud father, Jim, talking to Margaret.

Please keep the Teen Challenge ministry in your prayers!

In His name,
Chaplain Sam Houchins

Friday, April 13, 2007

Making a Difference

This truly is a moving video and well worth the time to pull it up and watch it. (Have the tissues nearby)

Make a Difference

(Thanks to Bill Henderson for sharing).

In His name,
Chaplain Sam Houchins

Thursday, April 12, 2007

The First Space Elevator

Check out this video:

 

 (if you don't see a video above)

Kids have come a long way from playing with two empty soup cans with a string stretched between them!

In His name,
Chaplain Sam Houchins

Saturday, April 07, 2007

Liane's Concert

(If you don't see a movie above)

Our daughter-in-law, Liane, is a music teacher with the Fredericksburg Christian School system.  This video is of her directing her students at a recent concert.  Way to go Liane! clap

In His name,
Chaplain Sam Houchins

Thursday, April 05, 2007

A Message to Our Troops

(Click if you don't see a movie above)

Thanks to Paige O. for sharing.

In His name,
Chaplain Sam Houchins

What Would Jesus Drive?

     Most people assume WWJD is for "What would Jesus do?" But here, with
tongue-in-cheek, the initials have been changed to stand for "What would
Jesus drive?" car

     One theory is that Jesus would tool around in an old Plymouth because
the Bible says, "God drove Adam and Eve out of the Garden of Eden in a
Fury".

     But in Psalm 83, the Almighty clearly owns a Pontiac and a Geo. The
passage urges Jesus to "pursue your enemies with your Tempest and terrify
them with your Storm".

     Perhaps God favors Dodge pickup trucks, because Moses' followers are
warned not to go up a mountain "until the Ram's horn sounds a long blast".

     Some scholars insist that Jesus drove a Honda but didn't like to talk
about it. As proof, they cite a verse in John's gospel where Christ tells
the crowd, "For I did not speak of my own Accord..." And, following Jesus'
lead, the Apostles apparently also car-pooled in---you guessed it---another
Honda..."The Apostles were in one Accord".

     Lastly, Joshua drove a Triumph sports car with a hole in its muffler:
"Joshua's Triumph was heard throughout the land".

smile_regular Thanks to Paige Orange for sharing this. thumbs_up

In His name,
Chaplain Sam Houchins