"Old friends, after all of these years, just old friends, through laughter and tears, old friends, what a find, what a priceless treasure, old friends, like a rare piece of gold, my old friends, make it great to grow old, old friends, with all I will hold to old friends." Lyrics from the Gaither song, 'Old Friends'

Our dear Brother Tommy.

Hello once again and welcome to the day after! That's right. It's Thursday, December 26, 2013. We had a most enjoyable afternoon and evening with family and I hope your celebration went well too. Thinking about all the well wishes we received on our anniversary made me aware of how special it is to have such wonderful, caring friends and family. Many of the comments were so over the top and gushing I called the wife and told her that they must have thought we were someone else. When we did the Chick-fil-A in Magnolia, Texas on the 17th, we saw some very special folks that night, including our Brother Tommy Erickson and some of his  family who showed up. We've known Brother Tommy for over 35 years. When we joined Timber Lakes Baptist in 1976, Tommy and Sherrie were newlyweds. Now they have wonderful grandchildren of their own. These folks reflect what it means to serve the Lord and others from the heart. Brother Tommy was a youth sponsor who helped our boys through their teenage years. While we no longer attend services together, we are glued together through a common bond as brothers and sisters in Christ. What a joy it was to see these wonderful folks, and others, as we did our little part in bringing joy to kids of all ages. Blessed folks, very blessed indeed!

That alone would have been worth the price of admission, if you know what I mean, and I think you do. This is why there are treasures worth far more than anything that might be bought or sold in this life. May God help us to learn this truth sooner rather than later. Amen.   .....More later.