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Wizard of Cos
Terry's Blog | |
Clovis
Posted July 5, 2018
With so much turmoil, divisiveness, hatred, racism, fear, doubts and threats going around these days, I just have to say something. So I’m going to write about Clovis. No, not the town in New Mexico (that wouldn’t take up much space) but my old friend Clovis S.
Clovis was a member of one of my churches. When first I met her it was easy to see she was a feisty, tough ole gal. I was met with a wicked smile that seemed to tell me to get ready. If I had been some stick-in-the-mud preacher, I would have had my hands full. But instead, we laughed a lot and made fun a lot and didn’t take life too seriously.
Clovis couldn’t take life too seriously; if she did, she would go nuts. She had had polio as a child and essentially had a “dead” leg making everything twice as hard. Her husband divorced her when Christians didn’t get a divorce (then he died, which served him right, if you ask me) and of course he left her with a little girl.
When I met Clovis she lived with her sister in a modest home. Her sister, Marie, had her own heartbreaking stories, but she was more like Mother Teresa. Clovis and I would laugh at the wrong things and she had that twinkle in her eye when she thought of something devilish. I often wondered if she said some things just to see if she could get a rise out of Mother Teresa. At that time she still drove and moved along with the help of a cane. When she got to the point she couldn’t drive, she told me to take the car and let my boys drive it, though she wasn’t ready to sell it yet. So Clay drove the Clovis, as he called it (after she passed, her daughter “sold” it to us for a few hundred bucks to pay its tax bill). She also had a wonderful thing to do with memory lapses. She would stammer and stutter trying to speak her thoughts. If it didn’t work she’d say, “Never mind, it will come back around in a minute.”
So Clovis went from driving to not driving, from a cane to a walker, and later to a motorized wheelchair. You could say it was hard to watch but I never felt sorry for her. One, she wouldn’t let you; two, she seemed to think that her wheelchair was a gift from God to be used to run over preachers.
Every Sunday I would stand at the bottom of the church’s grand, curving staircase and greet guests. I had to do this because the darn worship center was on the second floor! So Clovis would ride the elevator and come down. There was no escaping her. I’m stuck as her war chariot comes at me—table to my back—guests to the right—kids to my left—and Clovis drives over my toes. She never looked back; it seemed to make her day. So every Sunday Clovis ran over my toes and I yelled at her about her driving skills and she just kept going and grinning.
I bought new dress shoes one time and waited three months before wearing them to church. Clovis was no respecter of new shoes. As she went downhill in her life she couldn’t come to church and run over my toes. I missed it. Leaning on her bed one day, knowing where all this was going, I asked her why she ran over my toes every week. “It was hard to miss those big things. Besides, since you step on our toes, I figured you needed to be reminded how it felt.” The twinkle in her eyes was still there.
Clovis won’t have a wheelchair to run over my toes in heaven; wanna bet she dances on them?
Cos
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What We've Done
V.B.S. Galactic Starveyors Acknowledge Roaring Success
Posted July 5, 2018
Last week’s Vacation Bible School was themed Galactic Starveyors. The lessons and stories taught our children that the God of the Universe is our God. He wants a relationship with children and adults, and nothing is beyond his grasp.
The Galactic Starveyors theme permiated every aspect of the children’s activities. They were fed space-themed snacks and multiple portions of the gospel. The children learned “To Search The Visible; To Find The Invisible.” All learned that the hands and feet of Christ are present in first responders and that Christian Duty and Civic Duty go hand-in-hand. Guest speakers represented the Whitney sheriff's department as well as the Fire, EMS and 911 services. Care Flight came and taught the ’Tweens about what they do and why Careflight is so vital for people who live in rural areas. Several also learned CPR life-saving techniques. The week ended with “dancing in the rain,” provided by the WBVFD brush truck.
Eighty-five children participated, with about 15 of those kids signing up only on the first day. There were 60 officially-registered volunteers, while more volunteers just showed up for craft prep day and decoration day. In May the list of volunteers outnumbered the children, so this fact lulled Director Kae Keith into a false sense of security. She claims she will be savvier next year.
Because the number of children grew and the number of volunteers did not, the class sizes were quite large. Keith admitted that she was a bit nervous about that but decided it’s ok to be a bit nervous since it keeps the blood pumping. But she says she was never afraid or seriously worried. God made it very clear this was His show and He was in charge. Keith felt Spirit- inspired all during the planning process and during the Worship Service on Sunday, June 24th, God gave her a tremendous gift.
Kae Keith explains that there have been two terrible storms in her life and that Psalms 40 was the verse that saw her through them both. She has read that verse thousands of times, written it on paper and on her heart. After she heard the first few lines of the Psalm, she felt like a contestant on the Price is Right. “Kae Keith! This is your gift, come on down!”
But wait! There is more:
The Choir performed, “Don’t Worry About Tomorrow” and Tom Reedy read the verse from Matt 6:25. After the first major storm of Keith’s life in 2000, she made that verse her email signature, and it is still on her Kaesmi@gmail.com address. Eighteen years later she still lives by that verse and she has preached Matt 6:25 to her daughters so many times she can hear them roll their eyes over the phone. Not one but two gifts, God went to extra trouble to tell her, “Kae, it’s nice you need me again. Keep serving so we can stay close.”
To pull off a significant event, you need some objectives to guide you. This list served Kae and her team as their guide for this ambitious project:
1. Make sure every child understands there is something called the “Gospel” or “Good News” and what that Good News means to them personally.
2. Make memories associating God and Church with positive, happy and even celebratory times. Someday these little guys will be adults, and they may have storm seasons. Maybe such memories will lead them to ask God for help. Perhaps they will crack open a Bible and look for a verse that carries them through to better times. Maybe they will put it on their email signature to share it with others.
3. Finally, help these children to meet Jesus - a smiling, loving, joyous Jesus who wants to be their friend and savior.
Keith says with no conceit, “We did it! Sixty registered volunteers and so many more who didn’t fill out a form. The staff and members of White Bluff Chapel gave over their beautiful facility and prayed their hearts out over this event. The Holy Spirit was there loving on our babies and giving us the energy to laugh and smile. Look at the pictures. Children are chasing Associate Pastor Dylan with ice water, and their faces say it all. One day they will look back and think of these happy times. I know I will.”
Over the Hill Care Group Holds Quarterly Meeting
Posted July 5, 2018
On Saturday, June 23, the Over the Hill Care Group held its latest quarterly meeting at the Lone Star Room. Thirty members of the group attended and it was hosted by Dottie Briggs and Ursula Stone. Their husbands David and Ron, respectively, were great support leading up to the event and helping set up and decorate the room.
Members were treated to a meal consisting of pulled pork and pulled chicken with a variety of sides and desserts. You never leave these gatherings with an empty stomach.
Before the meal, Bill Burris offered a prayer and then the race for food began. It was good to see Steve and Elyse Short as they drove up from Buda to spend the evening with their White Bluff friends.
Following the meal, the group's leader, Marcie Burris, reminded everyone that the group mission was to care for each other and she asked them to contact her when they have a need so she can alert the group for a response. She asked if anyone had any prayer requests. Members asked for prayers for Doc and Debbie Bradley, Terry and Pam Cosby, Bill and Marcie Burris and Howard and Linda Yeary.
Marcie also welcomed new members, Greg and Janet Gummelt. Then Lou Storm offered to play a medley of patriotic songs for a sing-along. He provided everyone with the lyrics. Following the sing-along, Lou said he wanted to do one more song, which he dedicated to Bill and Marcie Burris. Lou asked everyone to gather around Bill and Marcie and touch them or hold hands with those who were touching them. He sang the song "In This Very Room." Bill commented later that it was the most humbling and touching experience he's ever had. He stated that only accepting Christ as his savior and being able to share a life with Marcie that have touched his heart more.
The next meeting will be the annual "Tailgate" party to be held in September and will be hosted by Marcie Burris.
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Children's Education
