Broken Bow Getaway

I write this morning from beautiful Broken Bow, Oklahoma. Vanessa and I took a few days (very few) for some rest and recreation. It is our first journey to Broken Bow. It has been a very nice and relaxing time away, and it was much needed.

We really wanted to go to the beach…the beach (any beach) is our go-to spot for reconnecting with each other and to get away from it all, but unfortunately, there aren’t any beaches close enough to make it feasible for a three-day trip (three days is all we have). Broken Bow is only three hours or so from the house, so that left more time for doing nothing than spending a day driving to the beach…so, here we are.

It’s been enjoyable. It’s been relaxing. Both what we needed. We’ve eaten too much trying local restaurants (Grateful Head Pizza, Mountain Fork Brewery, Beaver’s Bend Restaurant, Buffalo Grill). We’ve napped both days. We’ve seen new sights. We’ve taken a boat ride on pristine Broken Bow Lake. We’ve soaked in a hot tub. We took a ride through Beavers Bend State Park. Dipped our toes in the river. Watched fishermen fishing for trout in the stream. I even slept in one morning of our trip.

We’ve scoped out a lot of territory for a return trip with the grandchildren. They’d probably enjoy it more than we have. There’s ATV riding and hiking and swimming and paddle boarding and fishing…all great outdoor activities. I could see us renting a pontoon boat for a day on Broken Bow Lake tubing and fishing and cooking. I’d love to get a guide and take the grandsons fly fishing. Vanessa says she and the granddaughter want to learn to fly fish, too. Maybe my son could bring a couple of his Cushman carts and we could do some ATV riding along the trails in the Ouachita National Forest. So much to do. So little time.

We needed some time away. The only “time away” Vanessa and I have had in 2024 was to the EMC Journey session in Copperas Cove, TX in May. That was a refreshing time away, for sure, but it was a “working” conference, so does it really count as vacation? No, I don’t think so.

That’s the way it is when you own your own business. What’s the old saying? “The eye of the master fattens the calf.” No one watches your business like you do. I now know why Bill Malone spent so much time at Malone’s Grocery and Hardware in Chatham, LA.

A New Journey

We also needed some time away because next Sunday, September 29th, Vanessa and I begin a new journey as pastor at Haughton Methodist Church. Their’s has been a challenging journey out of The United Methodist Church. They have been without a pastor for some time now and after much prayer and consideration, we feel called to serve them in this capacity.

The congregation has been meeting for a little over a year in the Holiday Inn in Bossier City (part of their challenging journey), but will soon be moving into their new home at 966 Highway 80 in Haughton, LA on October 6th. I look forward to being a part of this transition, and I’m excited about all the possibilities that exist to grow the Kingdom of God in the Haughton area.

Hey? If you’re in the area, we meet for coffee and fellowship at 10 a.m., with worship following at 10:30 a.m. Plan on joining us September 29th at the Holiday Inn on Highway 80 in Bossier City and on October 6th at our new home. We’d love to see you!

I’ll be serving as a bi-vocational pastor for as long as they’ll have me. I’ll be selling oil during the week and pastoring on the weekend. We’ll see how that works out. We gave it a try at Lakeview Methodist Church for a few months, but the day job made it difficult to commit to the congregation the time it needed to grow the congregation. My prayer is the same thing won’t happen this time with the Haughton congregation.

Right now, we’re at a staffing level with the business that I absolutely don’t have to be there ALL the time. Join me in prayer that it stays that way and that I can eventually be more than just a Sunday preacher in Haughton.

Anyhow…it’s time to get up, start packing up and make the drive back home and to the real world. Monday is coming and there is oil to sell, cars to service and the Gospel to preach. Next week, by God’s grace, I’ll be doing all three–rested and ready to do so!

Until next time, keep looking up…