Happy Birthday!

Happy Birthday to Matthew Silveira! Matthew is our son-in-law and we are so proud to have him as part of our family.

Matt, you are a prince. We love your personality. You are fun and have a great sense of humor. However, you know when and how to be serious too. You are a very balanced young man. We also appreciate your work ethic. We love and appreciate you. Hope your day is blessed beyond measure and that this year brings you God’s richest blessings. Happy Birthday!

Four Year Pastoral Anniversary

Yesterday we celebrated four years of being the pastor of The Pentecostal Church. What a great time we had. As I reminisced about the past four years I thought, “we sure have not been lazy”. This church, along with us has been extremely busy. God has been so good to us. He has blessed us with a phenomenal people. If I began to tell you about all of them it would take up way to much space. Suffice it to say that The Pentecostal Church family are incredible people of God. Their love for God, each other, the lost and their pastor and myself is sometimes overwhelming. I love them with a love that I cannot describe in words.

We had incredible church yesterday. From the very first note on the instruments to the very last prayer in the altar service, the presence of the Lord was with us. Bro. and Sis. Gurley from Houston was our special guest speaker and we were not disappointed. Bro. Gurley was full of the anointing and preached awesome. One lady was filled with the Holy Ghost!

After the service we enjoyed a time of eating and fellowship with our church family. This is always a highlight for us. We love to fellowship with our people and just enjoy being together as the family of God. Sis. Christina and Sis. Tena did an great job putting this all together. The young people served and cleaned up and did an excellent job. Several of the people spoke of us and how they felt. It was very touching and very humbling to us. Then they presented us with a gift certificate to be able to get away for a few days of relaxation to the Woodside Hotel of our choosing. These are very elegant, distinguished and gracious places in California. We are looking forward to those days. How thoughtful this was. Thank you again, church family. You are the best! Thank you for a great 4 years! We love YOU!

Today we were able to spend a good portion of our day with Ken and Tessie before they had to leave to fly back to Houston. We have been friends with the Gurley’s for 30 years and always enjoy the time we get to spend together. We had a very relaxing day with them. We went over to Santa Cruz and tried a new restaurant (to us), “The Crows Nest”. It is right on the Santa Cruz Harbor and was an absolutely perfect day. Then we tried to watch a few surfers but there was just no waves to speak of today. That’s unusual. However, we still enjoyed the beauty of the ocean scenery. And being with friends makes it even better. Can you believe I forgot to take my camera along today?

I thank the Lord for friends, family and our precious church family. He has been better to me than I deserve but I love Him for it.

click on photos to enlarge

“I Am”

Pastor Hurst introducing Bro. Gurley

Some of the Young People that served

Bro. and Sis. Gurley.

At the dinner. Mmmm…good

Receiving Gift.

Us and The Gurley’s

THANK YOU, for a GREAT 4 years!

A Time With Family

Yesterday we were able to go up to San Francisco and spend some time with Gene, Karla (my sister), Cameron and Chad. We had a super great time. It is always fun to be with them. Nathaniel was able to take off a few hours early, so he met us up there too. Danelle was able to go with us. We ate, and ate some more. We went across the Golden Gate. The marine layer was already coming in but it was still beautiful. It is really weird to not be able to see the top of the “towers” of the bridge as you’re driving across. They were completely covered up by the fog. However, when we got across to the other side the sun was shining bright. I never get tired of seeing the beauty from the “other” side of the bridge. We ate lunch at La Terrasse in the Presidio. That was quite an experience. We couldn’t really read the menu but we managed to get some good food here. We then went down the “crookedest street” in the world. That is always rather breathtaking (not going down, going up)! You feel like you are going to fall off the face of the earth while you wait on the very steep incline. Then, we went to the hotel lobby and hung out, drank coffee and just talked and talked and laughed. Matt got there, after driving up after work and then we went to eat at Scoma’s. This is one of our favorite places in San Francisco to eat. They have great seafood. When we was finished eating and began paying the bill, Matt all of sudden said, “Oh no! My wallet!” He had quite a bit of cash in it, etc. We all searched and searched. The waiters, bus boys, people at the next table was all looking for the wallet. We finally determined that it had been pick-pocketed so I paid his and Danelle’s tab with one of my credit cards. Well, needless to say that was not a good feeling for the end of our day. After we said our goodbyes to Gene and Karla and the boys we walked to our car. My phone rang and Danelle said, “We found the wallet!” It had been left in their car. LOL Well, we all felt much better of course. All’s well that ends well. Right? And yes Matt paid me back.

I always enjoy my time with family since they all live in Texas. Gene and Karla, I’m glad you chose San Francisco for your family vacation this year.

click photos to enlarge

Nathaniel, Cameron, Karla, Chad, Gene, on the Golden Gate.

At La Terrasse

Cruise Ship, heading out to sea.

Just walking around. Having Fun!

You just had to be there.

At Scoma’s

Camp Meeting 2008

Camp Meeting 2008 has come and gone. It was probably one of the best camp meetings I have participated in. The preaching of Bro. Jones and Bro. Davis was impeccable. I received such a wonderful blessing on Wednesday after the preaching of the word by Bro. Davis. He spoke of keeping the things of God sacred. Keeping His house a place of reverence, etc. As we began to sing, “Holy, holy, holy, is the Lord God Almighty. Who was and is and is to come. With all creation I sing, praise to the King of Kings. You are my everything, and I will adore you”…such a sweet presence came over me. I had to put my microphone down and lift up hands in praise to my King. As I did this it was like a cool refreshing water began to flow from the top of my head to the soles of my feet. I find it hard to explain, but some of you will know what I am talking about. There is nothing like the refreshing we receive in the presence of Almighty God.

As most of you know I took care of the Hospitality Tent again this year. I had incredible help too. Matthew and Danelle went down to Santa Maria with me on Sunday Night. We got the tent ready for the beginning of Camp on Monday Morning. Three ladies from our church, Christina, Brenda and Gloria got there about 2:30 and helped us finish everything. Sis. Christina arranged the beautiful flower arrangements. She also made about 250 cookies for the hospitality tent ahead of time. She made, chocolate chip, peanut butter, snickerdoodles and chocolate/chocolate (oh so rich). Everybody loved them. In fact if they wasn’t sitting out on the table, people would come in and start looking for them in all the snack bins. LOL Thank you Sis. Christina, Brenda and Gloria. You were a tremendous blessing to me.

I had an assistant this year, Sis. Donna Claborn. The Claborn’s pastor in San Bernardino. Donna, you were a life saver! Donna Claborn is one of the sweetest ladies I know. She always has a smile and a twinkle in her eye. She organized Tuesday and Thursday for me and did an incredible job. She also helped me serve on Monday and Thursday nights after service to the ministers and special guests. Thank you Donna. Can you come up next year too?

I must give a huge shout out to my daughter and son-in-law! Matt and Danelle you guys were incredible. Matt, thank you for all your help throughout the week and for all the times you had to go to the store to refill the ice and restock the drinks, etc. You are awesome. I’m so glad you and ‘Nell got to go and that you had such a great time. Thanks to my son, Nathaniel, for loading and unloading everything for me. Also, thanks for helping out on Friday Night. Your the best!

I must give another shout out to Tena Valenti (from our church) for helping me with the dinners on both Monday and Thursday Nights. Monday night we served Brunswick Stew and Sandwiches with all the trimmings. That one was quite simple. Then on Thursday we cooked a dinner of Chicken in Sour Cream Mushroom Sauce, Rice, Mixed Vegetables and Dinner Rolls. Dessert was Chocolate or Carrot Cake. We nearly had a disaster but we pulled it off. LOL Tena, thank you so much for sacrificing your Thursday at Camp Meeting to help me. I know I couldn’t have done it without your help.

Also, I want to thank all of the ladies that helped me throughout the week. You all were such a blessing to me and to the camp. I love my sisters in the Lord. You guys are AWESOME!!!

Steve and Debbie Saiz, you out-did yourself once again. You are incredible people. The camp meeting was awesome and you are responsible for it all. I love you both dearly.

I was able to take a few pictures on Monday and Friday. The rest of the week was to busy. Enjoy!

There are more pics on my flickr account. Click on More Pics to Enjoy in the right column.

More Pics @: Shirley Buxton, Tena Valenti, Steve and Debbie Saiz.

Prayer Request

I received this note this morning from a lady in our church and wanted to make this known to you all. I know you will pray for little Luke. Also please pray for Jen, his mother.

Sis. Hurst,

Could you post a prayer request for Luke? He is my friend Jen’s son and he has a mass on his liver. He is having chemo. He is only 6 months old and they need a miracle and God’s great comfort. You are the superstar in the blog world so I know if you post it. Tons will pray!!
Love you,
Sis Noel

Camp Meeting

This is the last day of Camp Meeting 2008 here in the Western District.  We have had a phenomenol time.  The teaching and preaching of the Western District pastors and Bro. Davis and Bro. Jones has been over the top.  WOW!  God has met with us in such a special way.  We have enjoyed good fellowship with our friends and we have also enjoyed making new friends. 

This is just a little update.  I will post more later about the camp and hopefully have some pictures to go with it.

Blessings!

I Am Classical Music

You are a somewhat serious person who enjoys

studying subjects deeply.

Art of all kinds interests you, and a good piece of art can

really effect you emotionally.

You are inspired by human achievement,

and you appreciate

work that takes years to accomplish.

For you, the finer things in life are not about

snobbery -they’re about quality.

Ok, so that’s what the test said about me. Who really knows?

See what is says about you!

Mindy, This was fun. Thanks!

Getting Ready for Camp

I am a little preoccupied right now. I am trying to get ready for Camp Meeting. It starts on Monday but I will be going down on Sunday after church. My posts may be a little delinquent for the next little bit but I will be back. I hope those of you who are in California and Nevada will be at Camp. I would love to see you all.

In the meantime please keep Timo Simoneaux in your prayers (see previous post). God is able to perform a miracle here.

Talk to you all in a few days!

Blessings

Urgent Prayer

I am asking all my blogger friends to pray again. This time for Timothy Simoneaux (read prayer request below). God has heard us so many times and I know that this will be no different. His healing power can reach across the nations through your prayers and touch Timo. You can visit Timo’s blog here. Please keep the family in your prayers. I know at times like this they probably feel very alone so far away from family. However, I know that God can bring them peace and comfort. Thank you once again for praying.

From: WORLD NETWORK OF PRAYER

Timothy (Timo) Simoneaux, a missionary kid from Africa, has bacterial meningitis. He has been unresponsive for five hours and is being air-evaced from Malawi to South Africa. They expect the plane to arrive within the next five hours. Please pray that the plane will arrive sooner and get him to South Africa. Please pray for God’s healing power to flow in Timothy’s body. Please pray that the family will have peace in this scary time.

P.S. To stay updated visit Tracie’s blog. She and her husband pastor in Conroe, Texas.  Vicki Simoneaux (Timo’s mother) is Tracie’s sister.

The Lord’s Prayer

As I was looking back through some of my archives I came across this from September, 2006. I wanted to share it with you again. Enjoy!

“Our Father which are in Heaven…”

Yes?

Don’t interrupt me—I’m praying.

But you called me.

Called you? I didn’t call you! I’m praying, “Our Father which art in Heaven…”

There, you did it again.

Did What?

Called me. You said, “Our Father which art in Heaven.” Here I am. What’s on your mind?

But I didn’t mean it. I was, you know, just saying my prayers for the day. I always say the Lord’s Prayer, It makes me feel good. Like getting a duty done.

All right. Go on.

“Hallowed be Thy Name…”

Hold it. What do you mean by that?

By what?

By, “Hallowed be Thy Name.”

It means…it means…I don’t know what it means! How should I know? It’s just part of the prayer. By the way, what does it mean?

It means honored, holy, wonderful…

Hey, that makes sense. I never thought what “hallowed” meant before. “Thy Kingdom come, Thy will be done on earth as it is in Heaven…”

Do you really mean that?

Sure, why not?

What are you doing about it?

Doing? Nothing, I guess. I just think it would be kind of neat if you got control of everything down here like you have up there.

Have I got control of YOU?

Well, I go to church.

That isn’t what I asked you. What about the habit of lust you have? And your bad temper? You really have a problem there, you know. And then there’s the way you spend your money…all on yourself. And what about the kind of books you read?

Stop picking on me! I’m just as good as some of the rest of those phonies at church!

Excuse me. I thought you were praying for My will to be done. If that is so, to happen it will have to start with the ones who are praying for it. Like you, for example.

Oh, all right. I do have some hang-ups. Now that you mention it, I could probably name some others.

So could I.

I haven’t thought about it much until now, but I really would like to cut some of those things. I would like to, you know, really be free.

Good, now we’re getting somewhere. We’ll work together, you and I. Some victories can be won. I’m proud of you.

Look, Lord, I need to finish up here. This is taking a lot longer than it usually does. “Give us this day our daily bread…”

You need to cut the bread. You’re overweight as it is.

Hey, wait a minute! What is this? “Criticize Me Day”? Here I was, doing my religious duty, and all of a sudden you break in and remind me of all my hang-ups!

Praying is a dangerous thing. You could wind up changed, you know. That’s what I’m trying to get across to you. You called me and here I am. It’s too late to stop now. Keep on praying. I’m interested in the next part of your prayer…………..Well, go on.

I’m scared to.

Scared? Of what?

I know what you’ll say.

Try me and see.

“Forgive us our debts, as we forgive our debtors…”

What about Bill?

See? I knew it! I knew you would bring it up! Why, Lord, he’s told lies about me. Cheated me out of some money. He never paid back that debt he owed me. I’ve sworn to get even with him!

But your prayer? What about your prayer?

I didn’t mean it.

Well, at least you’re honest. But it’s not much fun carrying that load of bitterness around inside, is it?

No, but I’ll feel better as soon as I get even. Boy, have I got some plans for Bill! He’ll wish he never did me any harm.

You won’t feel better. You’ll feel worse. Revenge isn’t sweet. Think of how unhappy you are now. But I can change all that.

You can? How?

Forgive Bill. Then I’ll forgive you. Then the hate and sin will be Bill’s problem, not yours. You may lose the money, but you will have settled your heart.

But Lord, I can’t forgive Bill.

Then I can’t forgive you

Oh, you’re right. You always are. And more than I want revenge on Bill, I want to be right with you………Alright, alright. I forgive him. Help him find the right road in life, Lord. He’s bound to be miserable, now that I think about it. Anybody who goes around doing the things he does to others has to be out of it. Somehow, some way, show him the right way.

There now! Wonderful! How do you feel?

Hmmm. Well, not bad. Not bad at all. In fact, I feel pretty great! You know, I don’t think I’ll have to go to bed uptight tonight for the first time since I can remember. Maybe I won’t be so tired from now on because I’m not getting enough rest.

You’re not through with your prayer. Go on.

Oh, all right. “And lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil.”

Good! Good! I’ll do that. Just please don’t put yourself in a place where you can be tempted.

What do you mean by that?

Quit hanging around the magazine stand, video and music stores where unwholesome material is sold. Change some of your friendships. Some of your so-called friends are beginning to get to you. They’ll have you completely involved in wrong things before long. Don’t be fooled. They advertise they’re having fun, but for you it would be ruin. Don’t use ME for an escape hatch.

I don’t understand.

Sure you do. You’ve done it a lot of times. You get caught in a bad situation. You get in trouble and then you come running to me. “Lord, help me out of this mess, and I’ll never do it again.” You remember some of those bargains you tried to make with me?

Yes. And I’m ashamed, Lord, I really am.

Which bargain are you remembering?

Well, when the woman next door saw me coming out of the “adult” bookstore. I’d told my mother I was going to a store. I remember telling you, “Oh, God, Don’t let her tell Mom where I’ve been. I promise I’ll be in church every Sunday.”

She didn’t tell your mother, but you didn’t keep your promise, did you?

I’m sorry, Lord, I really am. Up until now, I thought that if I prayed the Lord’s Prayer every day, then I could do what I like. I didn’t expect anything to happen like it did.

Okay. Go ahead and finish your prayer.

“For Thine is the Kingdom and the power and the glory forever. Amen.”

Do you know what would bring me glory? What would really make me happy?

No. But I’d like to know. I want now to please you. I can see what a mess I’ve made of my life. And I can see how neat it would be to really be one of your followers.

You just answered the question.

I did?

Yes. The thing that would bring me glory is to have people like you truly love. And I see that happening between us. Now that some of those sins are exposed and out of the way, well, there’s no telling what we can do together.

Lord, let’s see what we can make of me, okay?

Yes, let’s see!