News
December 16, 2004
"He is just great! He is just amazing!" The last visitors departed at 11:00 PM. Fourteen hours of mental and physical stretching left Fred quite satisfied. He had been mentally challenged by friends, old and new. He had certainly been physically challenged by the therapist. But these are the "stuff" of which dreams are truly made for Fred. He sleeps well after a day of work!
A close friend has asked him to consider what he has learned in the last three years of "imminent" death. Be prepared for some tremendous insights as he puts this together. Do you know the sound that the computer makes when it is churning away madly? Stepping into his bedroom gives you the same sensation ---- brain on hyperwarp.
Specific prayer requests:
1) Safety and protection during dialysis
2) Opportunities to take his Barton Chair on the road and speak locally in 2005
3) Praise for an ever faithful God who abundantly provides and preserves
4) Thanksgiving for TEAM FRED who have suffered the indignities of the US Postal Service with smiles and hearts of ministry
5) Intercession for Steve Sims and Charlotte McNally as they face cancer.
Christmas season is by nature one of sentimentality and remembrance. This will be the family's first time without Mary Alice. Her life is celebrated and her memory is honored. Thank you all for your kind expressions.
May the child of Bethlehem remind us that peace with God arrived in a stable. Fred's six year old great grandson was visiting one night and commented, "I bet it sure was smelly in there for Jesus with all that animal poop." In humbling Himself He accepted all the smelliness that we had created and gave us Himself as a sweet smelling sacrifice. May Christmas be a holy time of praise and rejoicing for you. Your lights burn brightly in the hearts of the Smith family.
