REFLECTIONS OF THE WEEK

Thursday evening, I picked up Dr. Arthur Mallory at the Drury Hotel and took him to a restaurant where we met the Senior Management Staff of the Missouri Higher Education Loan Authority (MOHELA). We had a great time getting acquainted and sharing thoughts about MOHELA.

Friday morning, Arthur and I went to MOHELA Headquarters where we spent the next several hours listening to Arthur and thinking about where we were going. Arthur shared thoughts about what a good organization should look like. Here are some of his thoughts:

1. A good organization ought to smile a lot.
2. A good organization ought to get its books (Know what it is doing).
3. A good organization ought to know the landscape.
4. A good organization ought to change.

Early Saturday morning, Rocky, our dog, and I got into Sue's car to go to Dallas. Our son, Rick, had surgery on his sinus and had his tonsils removed. Cindy, our daughter-in-law, had asked Sue and me to come and help them during this time. Sue had flown to Dallas on Wednesday and had helped in taking care of our granddaughter, Hudson. She is a beautiful little girl who is a delight to be around. Saturday evening was family time as daughter Jamie and her family came from Denton, TX. It was a joy to be with them. Our granddaughters Lauren and Alexandra and I have developed a tradition. When we shake hands, I have a $20 bill and they like to shake hands almost as much as do I.

I spent two days driving Rick all over Dallas to take care of business that had been on hold because of his surgery. I love being with him. He and I moved to St. Charles in 1972 when he was four and we had seven years when it was just "Ricky and Dad." Those were special bonding years that continue to this day. Sue and I have three great children and following her divorce, the desire of her heart was to meet a guy with a son. She immediately became "Mom" to Rick and they have a wonderful relationship.

I saw a lady at QT in Springfield on the way to Dallas. She said: "God is good!" I replied: "All the time!"

Friends For a Long Time

It is interesting to visit with someone from years gone by. This week has been such a time. I have known Wayne Nelson for many years. He has been a pastor and then took the training to become a hospital chaplain. Wayne has always had a great disposition. In fact, I have felt that if there was anything wrong with our relationship, the problem had to be me. Wayne lives in Georgia and he and his wife, Mary came through St. Charles on their way to her high school reunion. Sue and I took them to dinner on Tueday evening and enjoyed a good time with them. Yesterday the time was spent on the golf course with another long-time friend, Dr. Tom Trimble. My relationship with Tom goes back in time and he and Wayne went to the same high school in Columbai, Mo. Tom is president of Christian Psychological and Family Services with offices in St. Louis and Nashville. He was the one who told me about Sue and that she was expecting me to call. Whenever we get together, we take up where we left off as though time and distance are non factors. That is so special.

Next week, Sue and I will take high school friends of mine to a Cardinals' game. Dave and Bitty (real name Martha) Fay are huge Cardinals' fans. This has become an annual event for them and us. I have a standing invitation to stay with them whenever I am in Springfield. We will be having a high school reunion in September and I have asked Dave to draw what the public squrare in Springfield looked like when we were in high school. As an exercise for the old folks at the reunion, I will have them locate the businesses on the square in the right place when we all lived in Springfield. That will be a lot of fun.

On Thursday, I have invited another long-time friend, Dr. Arthur Mallory to come to St. Louis and have a workshop for the Missouri Higher Education Loan Authority (MOHELA). Arthur has been president of Missouri State University and the commissioner of education for the state of Missouri. He is a very strong Christian, having been the past president of the Missouri Baptist Convention. I have asked Arthur to lead us in sharing "What a Great Organization Should Look Like." Arthur is always inspiring. This should be both informative and fun.

God has always been faithful in placing the right person in my life at the right time. This was never a conincidence. It is just the way God works. There was a time when something happened to me that should not have happened because it was against the law, but God supercedes American law for His purpose. The result of this was having a relationship with just the right person who opened the door for me to go to Baylor. What a powerful God!

Sue goes to Dallas on Wednesday to be with our son, daughter-in-law, and granddaughter. Rick is facing surgery and they wanted us to help them. I will drive down on Friday evening and be there until Wednesday of the following week. I am driving to take Sue's car to her so she can drive to Nashville on Monday.

I have to announce two high school all-star baseball games on Saturday. As always, I need prayer.

BOOKS AND THINGS

Through the years, I have spent a lot of money on books. While serving as pastor of the Lakeland Baptist Church located on the shores of the Lake of the Ozarks, I developed a pretty good library of Christian writings, and used them in preparation of sermons and counseling. In 1983 I gave most of those books to my pastor, Jay Piper. Jay was a great pastor and was so supportive on One Accord's singing ministry. We even had him sing with us one time when we hosted the Blackwood Brothers. Not long after I gave the books to Jay, be became terminally ill and died at the age of 41. We sang at his funeral.

As the years have gone by, I accumulated more Christian books. Commentaries, books authored by well-known writers as well as books not so well-known. I used those in preparing sermons while serving as interim-pastor of two churches in the St. Louis area. As Sue and I began "down-sizing," I looked at all the books and decided to call our pastor, Dr. David McAlpin, and see if he would like to look at the books and take anything he wanted. Yesterday, he came by and reviewed the authors and took three boxes of books with him. He took old books and new books and a set of commentaries. His son just graduated from Liberty University and David took some for his son. It was fun visiting and I enjoyed his reaction when seeing some of the older books written by men who have gone on to be with Jesus.

David McAlpin is a rare breed. I have been around preachers much of my life and he is one of the few who listen when you speak, and look you in the eye while listening. I told him he had the first characteristic of a serving leader. Sue and I are so fortunate to have David as our pastor.

I have a very important MOHELA board meeting Friday. The Missouri legislature has passed legislation and Governor Blunt has signed the bill that will allow MOHELA to give 315M dollars to the state for building repairs at state universities. Included in this bill are provisions that will allow MOHELA to do things that were previously not allowed. One of the things I want to do is pilot a program for parents of kindergartners that would encourage them to begin saving for college and MOHELA will help them by matching their savings.

At our Friday board meeting, I have asked Dr. Robert Spence, one of our board members who is also president of Evangel University, to share with us some of the things he believes MOHELA can do for private universities that use our services. Dr. Spence is a great Christian who has led EU in a marvelous way. I look forward to hearing from him.

I write this on the seing in our backyard. It is a very pleasant morning to be outside, especially with Service Master cleaning our carpets.