Where has the summer gone? Seems like only yesterday, the kids were getting out of school and looking forward to the “lazy days of summer,” and now they are looking forward to buying new clothes for “back to school”!

We have been extremely busy working the fishing tournaments, but what a blessing they have been. We have been given about five tons of fish and have passed out much of it to several places. We have been blessed with a great group of workers who have always shown up at the right time with knives in hand, ready to see things happen for needy people. There is no possible way we could have accomplished what we have except for the help of people who show up to help! “Thank you” sounds so inadequate, but they are the best words I have in my vocabulary!

Again, thank you who bring Poco Bueno, the Lone Star Shoot-Out, and the Sharp Tooth, and the Freeze-Out tournaments to Port O’Connor and encourage the participants to donate the fish to the Chapel! One day, when we see all the good we have done, we will see many hundreds of people who will be saying, “Thanks” for your help in feeding them!

Pastor Joane and her team did an excellent job of putting together a Ladies Retreat here at our Retreat Center. Over 70 ladies came and were extremely blessed – they are even asking when the next one is scheduled. There were several different churches that participated and ladies left here encouraged to see God continue doing special things in their lives.

The following weekend, we opened our Retreat Center to a group of Youth. There were at least 45 kids here and they had an extremely memorable time. There were special speakers, different activities, including a fire pit on Friday night, and of course, the trip to the beach! We have been asked to reserve a time for the Youth to return next year and will be looking forward to scheduling it in the near future.

The Retreat Center is being used again this weekend as Jimmy’s family is coming for a reunion. We host these as often as we can because we believe the Lord is honored by our blessing families.

We have several other Retreats scheduled for later this year and are excited to host each one.

NEWS FLASH – Captain Robert is returning to the Chapel this fall for another Captain’s Class. We were all disappointed when the Sea Academy announced its closure, but with Captain Roberts’ determination and vision, classes will be resuming this fall. Be looking for the upcoming announcement. Do not let it out of the bag, but I believe we can expect one beginning December 8 – just between you and me – okay!

Just a personal note – I sincerely appreciate Pastor Joane and Pastor Jesse stepping up to the plate to fill this pulpit while I have been under the weather. This past month has been very difficult for me because I have been required to slow down and let others help! But, they have been there, even if it has been at the last minute, to preach in my place. Thank you! And Thank You, Chapel Family, for allowing them to minister to you. We are on our way back!

Fisherman’s Chapel is an interdenominational congregation whose mission is to help sojourners successfully travel from earth to glory. We have a great group of loving people who will welcome you warmly. You are always welcome at the Chapel and urged to, “Come, grow with us!”

Our trash bin (Roll Off) is located at the POCID Wastewater Plant. It will be there every two months, the first Saturday of that month. Having just been available on August 5, the next time for the Roll Off will be October 7.

All residents of Port O’ Connor using our sewer system please take time to look around your yard for clean out caps off, or if your candy cane is broken or vent is loose allowing rain water to enter into the system. We do not need to treat rainwater, as it creates a burden on the sewer system and overloads the wastewater treatment plant. If you find any of these items, please call the district office and we will send out a technician to do an inspection.

Thank you to everyone for your patience with the water and sewer billing. A new billing system is being put in place, which will eliminate these billing errors. Customers’ bills will also look different; there will be a graph showing usage, billing dates, and a message section on the bill. Port O’ Connor Improvement District also has a new Customer Service/ Office Manager by the name of Callie Stafford, if you would like to stop by and introduce yourself.

Thank you.
POCID

Pastor Joane is truly an artist! If you have not seen her creations, then you are missing part of God’s gifting to this community. I cannot draw stick people where even my five-year-old granddaughter can tell what they might be! I have zero talent when it comes to drawing. I would truly love to paint faces and mountains, lakes, trees, valleys, and rivers. But, my drawing is limited to coloring books that have the dot-to-dot connectors.

Some of you not only remember these, but you still use them to help create order out of a blank sheet of paper. Each dot is numbered, and it is our job to simply draw a line from dot #1 to dot #2 and to each succeeding dot until the whole outline is filled in. The more complicated “pictures” might have move than 20 dots, but I rarely go for one that detailed!

Some people, even before they trace in the lines connecting the dots, can rather accurately discern the outline of what they are drawing. The dots, even when unconnected, all form some discernible pattern, but I was never that intuitive.

Wouldn’t it be wonderful if life worked that way? If we could glance at an overview of all the “dots” in the portrait of our life story and see where today’s connecting line (from dot #27 to dot #28, for example) fits in the whole scenario of God’s pattern for our lives?

At times we find ourselves in a barren Arizona desert in which the sand blows in and eliminates all the dots. We once thought we knew exactly where we were going, and had it all mapped out. And then, suddenly we found ourselves in a spiritual wilderness – trackless, monotonous, and dangerous. It is so unsettling because we can no longer see the whole – we are faced with the necessity of living just one day at a time.

Then we have to trust that God Himself knows where all the dots are, and that He is not leading us simply in circles – but in some meaningful pattern that will truly take us somewhere.

My frustration is that God does not reveal the whole picture to me. Like the nation Israel in Old Testament times, He does not lead us through the wilderness on the shorter, more traveled road – but around – and around and around (see Exodus 13: 17-19).

Our Lord forces us into daily existences. Guidance is one day at a time, with no view of the future. Even the food lasts only one day – and we have to ask, “Give us this day our daily bread!”

What is God teaching us in these wilderness seasons of life where we become frustrated because we cannot see the “whole”? Often we even panicked because life appears to be making twists and turns which are taking us away from the picture we thought God wanted drawn for our lives.

Take heart! We are in God’s wonderful and terrifying wilderness! He is stripping us of everything except today. He is forcing us to connect only this morning’s dot to this evening’s dot. In such a place we learn some valuable lessons and get back to the basics which will always guide our course.

1. Prayer: I never know what today is bringing but I always know Who is in control, so I go to Him in prayer daily.

2. Trust: I have learned that my worrying bout tomorrow keeps me from allowing this present day from finding fulfillment. God can be trusted when I allow Him to lead me.

3. Obedience: I must stop trying to direct my life and listen to my Commanding Officer – we who have served in the military understand this very well!

4. Security: God has never failed to direct me in good pathways when I have put my trust in Him – and I fully believe in His love to see me through this desert as well.

5. Humility: For me, learning to lean on the Lord instead of trying to be in control is extremely challenging, but when I try following Him, I find life works out better.

As we learn to rely on God daily, we come to understand that just as He is with us today, He will be with us in all our tomorrows. He does know where the dots are going – even if we cannot see them.

As we transition into living one day at a time – and that day only – somehow we become far more focused. The day itself yields a much more intense relationship with God because we are no longer waiting for some future moment to deepen our walk with Him. It is today or never! And the same principle spills out in our interpersonal relationships. We commit ourselves to love, forgive, and duty needed for this one day.

Remember the dot-to-dot connector! When we choose to draw the line today which connects the morning to the evening – God will show us the next day where the new dot is. Keep the pencil of life moving according to His daily will, and someday God will allow us to look back and see a portrait which makes sense … and beautiful.

“The Way I See It” is an attempt by the columnist to enlighten readers on a subject as he views it, and does not necessarily reflect the views of this publication.

News You Might Have Missed

The Food Stamp rolls have been reduced by 1.1 million recipients since President Trump took office. Partly because of the many new jobs created in the Private Sector by the repeal of job-killing Executive Order Regulation put in place by the previous administration. The economy is growing at 2.6%, a rate the Democrats said was impossible, Obama’s best was 1.5%. Also the mere threat of enforcing existing Immigration Law has frightened some Illegal Aliens off the Welfare Programs. Non-citizens, especially “Criminal Invaders” should not receive Welfare Benefits, it only encourages more law breaking. Illegal immigration has been greatly reduced under Trump and the apprehension and deportation of criminals, starting with violent criminals, is slowly reducing their numbers.

Illegal immigration increased during July, probably encouraged by ‘Sanctuary Cities’, but still last years July numbers were 85% higher than this years, so there is marked improvement. Why the Liberal politicians in some areas want to encourage breaking established Immigration Law is a question all citizens should be asking. And don’t we have more than enough poor Americans dependent on our Welfare System without encouraging more low education indigents from other countries? Especially from cultures that do not assimilate well, if at all?

U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) formally announced on July 31, the signing of 18 new 287(g) agreements throughout the state of Texas at an event in Grapevine today attended by Acting ICE Director Tom Homan and sheriffs from each of the 18 counties. The 287(g) program allows state or local law enforcement entities to enter into a partnership with ICE for delegated immigration enforcement. With the addition of these 18 agreements, ICE now has 60 active 287(g) agreements, which is nearly double the number of active programs in 2016. Calhoun County was among them, we should all thank and support Sheriff Vickery for that. Congressman Blake Farenthold proudly points out that 8 of the 18 new county Sheriffs to join the program are in his district. We do have some local leadership who are interested in protecting our citizens, economy, and our welfare programs for our poor citizens.

Protecting the Citizens and natiomal borders from invasion of any kind is the Prime Responsibility of any form of reasonable Govt. A Historical Fact that seems to be lost to the Lib/Progressives. Citizens are absolutely correct to question the motives of those that support “Open Borders” and disarming Citizens. “Hoplophobia”, the fear of citizen-soldiers, armed citizens, and weapons in general is a good indication of those Totalitarians that intend to enslave you, regardless of their stated intentions. It is not selfish or “mean-spirited” to protect our Nation, Constitution, economy, and culture that has done so much good for so many, even all around the world, in our relatively brief history.

Trump has reduced the Federal Debt by over $500 Billion with little help from many Repubs and total resistance from the Democrats, plus constant harassment and accusations from the Media. An audit of Housing and Urban Development revealed “accounting errors” totaling $519.4 BILLION during the Obama Administration. Julian Castro was the HUD Secretary at the end. HUD CFO denies any “wrong doing”, but where did the money go? That is a lot of “rounding errors”!
Even after 16 years of no rise in “Global Warming”, 11 years of no major hurricanes in the U.S., and many reports of “Govt Scientists” skewing data or outright lying, The New York Times printed more “Global Whining Hysteria” on Monday August 9th, claiming it was leaked a secret, gloomy climate change report which it published amid fears President Trump would suppress it. Not only is there considerable debate over the “info” in the report, it had been available online from the EPA website and others since January. More ‘FAKE NEWS”.

I won’t even touch on North Korea here. See my comments on the web site.

After many years of study and observation of the Liberal Progressives, I think I’ve learned the core difference between American Constitutionalists and Liberal Progressives. Constitutionalists believe in “WE the People, to form a more perfect Union …” and want to make a Govt that suits the Citizens; the Progressives want to use a highly Centralized, Totalitarian Govt to “perfect humanity” to suit their theories and agenda. They see Govt as a means of forcing their “Social Experiments” on their “subjects”. If the Citizens resist, the Lib/Progs seek to replace them with more ‘easily trainable’ immigrants and refugees. Control of the Central Govt by creating more Govt dependents amd Party-loyal ‘voters’ is their idea of “Democracy”. Please see the Website for more discussion on this, there is not the space necessary here.

Readers are encouraged to visit the Website for further discussion, sources, ask questions, and make comments.