A Day of Change

This past Friday history was made in Edna, TX. with "You Can Be The Change", a program to stop the teasing and bullying that go on on school campuses. We had 25 youth who took the challenge to change their school one person at a time. It was a special time for some to seek forgiveness and others to receive forgiveness. The day was a complete success as we shared some of our concerns for our home, our school, and our city. A big thank you goes out to the administration and staff of the Edna Jr. High School.

Answered Prayer by Two Angels

This morning I was on my way to a meeting when I remembered about Thanksgiving and Christmas coming up. I guess I didn't just remember it. It's been on my mind for some time now. But I said a quick prayer asking God to provide for some families who desparately need some help during the holiday season. I drove into the parking lot and sensed that God would take care of this issue sometime in the future. As soon as I grabbed coffee and began my hellos a couple there said "Good Morning" and said "Oh, don't leave. I have a check for you." Not thinking too much of it, I continued my rounds, and as I finished I realized that I needed to pick up my notebook from the car. Not wanting to lose the check, I was going to lock it in the car. When I pulled it out of my pocket, it fell open. It was the exact amount that I had prayed for not twenty minutes earlier. Two angels heard God speaking to them as I was speaking to God. What an awesome God we serve! Something that had been bothering me for several days now was answered the moment I gave it to God. So don't forget all you saints out there, we have not because we ask not.

What if an evening out could change the life of a child?

We all love to spend an evening out with our families, our loved ones, but there are many children in our immediate area who will not celebrate Thanksgiving or Christmas with gifts or a special meal. But for the price of an evening out, you can help change all that and take a great deal of pressure off parents who are struggling and youth who feel hopeless. Won't you consider staying at home one evening this holiday season and helping these families celebrate the holiday season? Make your donation to lighthouse2911@msn.com with paypal or send your donation to LIGHTHOUSE 2911 at 202 Willis St, Yoakum, TX 77995.
Thanks in advance for your generous donations.

The Great South Texas Deer Hunts for LIGHTHOUSE 2911

LIGHTHOUSE 2911 is very blessed to have Ricki and Francey McKinney as friends. Ricki is a long-time hunter and breeder of Texas white-tailed deer. He is offering two great hunts for LIGHTHOUSE 2911 - a three day hunt for a 140-160 trophy buck or a management buck or doe hunt, so if you are a seasoned pro or new to deer hunting, we have a hunt for you. Please

check them out on ebay at the links below. If you have questions, email me and I will try to answer your questions. Please tell your friends about these two hunts.






http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=280412064130&ssPageName=STRK:MEWAX:IT http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=280412078500&ssPageName=STRK:MEWAX:IT

What do they think they were doing?

Today, I heard a news story about a young football player who made a touchdown for his team and pointed to the heavens to thank God. They penalized the young man's team 15 yards for pointing to the heavens and thanking God for his ability. I really think this young man giving God the glory for his ability is something we ought to encourage instead of penalizing the team for his faith and maybe the faith of others on the team. Yes, I hear your concern about separation of church and state, but doesn't this young man have the same rights as other young men who slam the ball down on the ground and do a happy dance or sometimes vulgar dance in the endzone. I never have seen them penalize a team for that. What's fair for one ought to be fair for everyone. Or maybe your faith should be seen more and more instead of hidden. I for one applaud this young man for showing his faith in a public fashion. What a refreshing young man. I would love to meet him and let him know how proud I am that he is not afraid to show his faith. By the way, I heard this story on one of my favorite stations, KLOVE. It happens to be a Christian station. Just another blog that makes you go, "Hum?"
Paul
ps: The young man said he would do it again the next time he makes a touchdown. Let's pray he makes a lot of touchdowns.

What I would do if I only had five years to live....

Today, I was reading in the paper what people would do if they only had five years to live. I thought about how great it would be to go around the world fishing. Then I thought about how I might enjoy raising rasing pigeons again. Then I thought about how nice it would be to write a book about how gracious God has been in my life. But as nice and as lovely as all those activities are, I guess I would do exactly what I am doing now - serving God at two churches and working with youth to help build a better future for all. And while I'm thinking about it, if you are the kind of person that prays, could you remember LIGHTHOUSE 2911 in your prayers?

Finally, isn't it great to be doing exactly what you want to do?

See you next blog,
Paul

Why?

Why do we think we don't hurt each other?
Why do we think it's always the other person's fault?
Why do we think we will be able to get away with it?
Why do we think it's all about me?
Why do we think no one cares?
Why do we think it's not worth it?
Why do we think life is unfair?
Why do we think if only?
Why do we think what if?
Why do we think it should have been?
Why do we think it's not my responsibility?
Why do we think we can destroy?

I have about a thousand more of these questions, but why do you think I should continue?
I think you get the point that it's self-accountability. That's the answer. Another list of questions that make you go, "Hmm?"

Self Esteem

Self esteem is funny, isn't it? We all hope our self esteem is as our friends' and neighbors'. And I've noticed recently that we tend to gravitate to those friends and neighbors and family members whose self esteem is somewhere on the same scale of our self esteem. I've also noticed how uncomfortable we feel when we are confronted by someone whose self esteem is much higher than ours and how much better we feel when we are around someone whose self esteem is lower than ours. Wouldn't it be great if every day we would lift up someone whose self esteem is lower than ours? Oh, what a concept - giving a helping hand up instead of putting someone down. Wouln't it be great if we did that with our kids also? Wouldn't our self esteem rise to the occasion? Nothing seems to raise my self esteem like giving myself to someone else who is in need. Just something to think about -- makes me go, "Hmm."

Website Makeover

Recently our webmaster, Randy, has been redesigning our websight. It's still under construction, but check it out, especially the links to our prayer page and how your on-line shopping can benefit LIGHTHOUSE 2911. One the front page, the youth on the hayride had a great time seeing longhorn cattle and even had a chance to kiss a llama. It was such a happy time for the youth we serve just to have a little fun. Let us know what you think about the new website and please list your prayer concerns that we might pray for each other.
Oh, I forgot to tell you the website address. www.lighthouse2911.org

Coffee and Blessings

Today in South Texas it's been raining, overcast skies, and temperatures in the low to mid 60s. I hear people like me who are very fond of this weather. It's a welcome relief from the 100+ temperatures with no rain that we've had this past summer. Because it was such a cool rainy day, I invited our Program Director out for a cup of coffee at the coffee shop. During our coffee break, while discussing business, a very tall young man approached us and said, "Mr. Paul, I haven't seen you in such a long time." I introduced him to Randy and asked him what he was doing. He said, "Grabbing some lunch and heading back to work." Then he added, "Mr. Beard are you still doing the program?" I responded, "Yes, sir." And he said, "If you ever need someone to tell kids how important an education is, I'm your man. Everything you taught me, I am using. PALS classes are very important to keep kids on track." He then grabbed his lunch and left and we continued discussing work with Randy. But I had this thought in the back of my mind. This young man had really changed his life and is now offering himself to help others. That's truly what our life skills programs do and in the process, our communities are changed. So on what some would consider a dreary cold day, my heart was glowing from the insight out as we saw some of the fruits of our labor.

Smile

Today at Life Skills class we discussed quotes. One of my favorite quotes was, "Smile, it makes people wonder what you're thinking." Right now as I type this I am smiling. Want to know what I'm thinking? Let me tell you. I'm thinking that "God is good" and that even when I am angry, hurt, or broken, God is still in control and still leading LIGHTHOUSE 2911 and me.

New Happenings

This past weekend LIGHTHOUSE 2911 was invited to a Ministry Fair at First United Methodist Church in Port Lavaca. It is always a fun time to talk about our Life Skills Programs and make new friends at the same time. Teresa and Billy Reeder did an excellent job of designing a power point and decorating a display. It always surprises me how many volunteers it takes to carry out the call that LIGHTHOUSE 2911 has.



Now I have been re-evaluating LIGHTHOUSE 2911's Vision Statement. Basically for the last five years it has been to Build A Better Future For All. If you read this blog, you already know what LIGHTHOUSE 2911 does, so if you have a vision statement that you would like to share with us, please feel free to share your vision for LIGHTHOUSE 2911. Who knows, we might even adopt it.



Continue to watch our blog for more updates and look for a new and improved webpage coming soon.



Paul

Summertime Happenings

Summertime happenings...

This summer has been very busy for LIGHTHOUSE 2911. We had summer camp July 13-16th. The kids had a great time swimming and learning how they could be the change in the world. But our youth did even more. They gave back to Cathedral Oaks Worship and Retreat Center in Weimar, TX where we had the camp, by painting the basketball goal lines, and the two restrooms by the pool. They also cleaned out closets and the laundry room. One of the important things we have each night is tell our highs and lows of the day. Your heart can break when you hear statements like, "This is the first time I could really be myself." or "You guys are really family to me." The weather was hot and dry and the food was great. This year we had guest speakers come out and talk about their lives and how they cope with the struggles of life. It was four great days of work, play, learning, and a little bit of sleep.

But that was not all we did this summer. On August 1st we went to SplashWay Waterpark in Sheridan, TX. This day was one of those hot Texas days, but the water was cool and soothing. I grilled burgers for the group. Other leaders brought chicken salad, soft drinks, chips, cookies, and water. We had so much fun. We even had a birthday party. Somewhere near lunchtime, the dj invited people to do the ChaCha slide. It was a shame that I had to be grilling hamburgers at this time, but some of our youth really got into the ChaCha. The ChaCha slide will never be the same for some of us. As we enjoyed the afternoon and prepared to leave, we kept missing one of our youth who was busy floating in the river and talking to girls. We only teased him a little bit on the way home. And speaking of the way home, the new Shaved Ice Stand in Hallettsville is a great place to stop for ice cold snowcones on a hot Texas day. It is very cool to talk to a young man who was working in the stand about his summer camp experiences and how small this world really is.

We couldn't have done all this without the help of many people - people who donated money, or churches like First United Methodist Church of Gonzales who helped us with transportation, or that group of men and women who came to help in any way we needed, or those fine folks at Monthalia United Methodist Church. Everyone's support is greatly appreciated.

So it's been a great summer, but now it's the second day of school and we need to look to the future, but more about that later. Now lets just enjoy the memories of the summer.

Oh, I forgot one other thing. We were even able to buy school supplies with donations that came in. Many youth are happy with their new binders and supplies and are planning to make this the best school year ever. Now I'm sure you are tired of hearing about our summer. Stay tuned for more to come.

Paul

Texas hotsauce fundraiser

LIGHTHOUSE 2911 has found the best hotsauce in Texas and I have been able to acquire the secret recipe for a fund-raiser. This hotsauce will enhance anything you eat. As valuable as this hotsauce is, we are only asking for a donation of $5 or more for you to experience a true Texas tradition with any meal, snack or icecream sundae. Come to think of it, it's about time for my LIGHTHOUSE 2911 hotsauce snack. Ohhhh, sooooo gooood! Contact me at LIGHTHOUSE 2911 to order your bottle today. Paul Beard, LIGHTHOUSE 2911, 202 Willis St., Yoakum, TX 77995. Or email us at lighthouse2911@msn.com.