What Time Is It?

Posted on August 25th, 2005 in Worship Under The Stars by Fred

Hey Ya’ll -

Well, last night I was standing outside in the parking lot at Goldens Isles Parkway Church of God at 8:10 PM … and I couldn’t help notice that there was still plenty of “light”. Granted, it’s getting darker sooner, but “Worship Under The Stars” is only 15 days away, and we were counting on it being dark around 7:00 - 7:30 since the concert starts at 7:00. Since we have a big light show, “kabuki drop” (what’s a kabuki drop!?), etc., we were counting on it being dark.

Well, we arrived at the 7:00 start time months ago … Chris Moncus, who was then working on staff for HPP googled “Sunset Times” and discovered that the Sept 10, 2005 sunset time in Brunswick, GA was scheduled for 18:38 EST (6:38 PM), according to some Navy Tables.

I started getting that bad feeling last night that we’ve goofed - that these “navy tables” we used are either wrong, or we read them incorrectly. Now that I’ve looked at them for the 100th time, I notice the following text at the bottom:

Add one hour for daylight time, if and when in use.

oops.

A search of the “Old Farmer’s Almanac” confirmed my feelings - this site shows the sunset time at 7:38 PM … an hour later than the 18:38 EST the navy tables predict (if I’m doing my military time conversion properly, which now I know I was supposed to add an hour!)

This Daylight Savings Time really messed me up, and not all sites add it in - this further confuses things:
For example: “TheSunRiseTimes ” has a sunset time of 6:38 (like the Navy tables) for Jekyll Island, GA on Sept 10, 2005.

However, SunriseSunset.Com has the 7:39 time listed as “sunset”.

One thing is agreeable - at 39 minutes after an hour, the sun will set on Sept 10. But it’s pretty obvious now that it won’t be 39 minutes after 6:00 PM. I now know that Daylight Savings Time is not factored into some of these charts. Rats.

Oh well - Vertical Window, an awesome, contemporary praise band from First Baptist Church in Brunswick, GA is opening the concert at 7:00, and they’ll play for 40 minutes or so. I’m sure that by the time the concert has finished, we’ll be “under the stars”. Come to think of it … we’re always under the stars … it’s just that we’d like to see them!

Ya’ll come!
For the Kingdom,
Fred

God’s Benevolence

Posted on August 16th, 2005 in Faith by Fred

Hey Ya’ll -

For the last week I have been re-reading a fantastic book entitled “Christ The Healer” by F.F. Bosworth. It’s one of the most incredible books on the doctrine of “divine healing” and “divine health”, and God’s will for us, as Believers, to be healthy. It’s amazing how quickly we can forget the Word of God in this area when we are sick. I’d been struggling with back-to-back infirmities over the last few months, and had gotten really discouraged. This book is so full of the Word of God and is a refreshing reminder of God’s will for us.

I could blog (10) times a day for the next month quoting passages from this book - and I’m sure I’ll quote it a lot in the next couple of weeks … but this morning during my devotional time, I have been reading Chapter 4 - The Lord’s Compassion. F.F. Bosworth is describing God’s character attributes of being full of mercy and compassion. He attempts to get the reader to remove the obstacles they may have in receiving what God so desperately wishes to give to us - his mercy, compassion and goodness. This quote was so good - I just had to share it …

Suppose the vast Pacific Ocean were elevated high above us. Then conceive of its pressure into every crevice to find an outlet through which it might pour its ocean-tides over all the earth, and you have a picture of God’s benevolent attitude toward us.

WOW. I’ll type that backwards - WOW. :-)

Ya know, that’s just the TRUTH. God is constantly being described throughout the Word of God as being “slow to anger, abounding in love, compassionate, gracious, faithful …”. I don’t know about you, but there are lots of areas in my life where I need God to lavish His overwhelming goodness, mercies, and compassionate benevolence on me. And I’ve decided that I’m crazy enough to believe His Word, and I’ve opened my “Accounts Receivable” doors wide. I hope you’ll do the same.

For the Kingdom,
Fred F. McKinnon

Rebekah has Pig Tails

Posted on August 15th, 2005 in Family by Fred

Well, I couldn’t resist posting this quick snapshot of Rebekah Grace … she had her hair (or Joy had her hair, rather), in little pig-tails. Daddy is now wasted for the rest of the day!

Rebekah Grace McKinnon, August 15, 2005

Blessings from a proud Daddy,
Fred

Hello world!

Posted on August 9th, 2005 in Family, General, Worship Under The Stars by Fred

Hey Ya’ll -

Well, today I just kinda felt like blogging … nothing really great to say or share - no huge announcement - no mind bending revelation (ha, like that’s gonna happen!) … just a desire to type, journal, and say “hello” to the world.

It’s around 3:15 EST … and things have slowed down a little bit - God is blessing me with a bit of a “breather” before I take off running again.

So … let’s see … what’s happenin?
Went to Savannah yesterday to see Dr. Fred Daniel of ENT Associates. I started getting this nasty infection in my right ear last Wednesday. It only got worse - I prayed about it and felt like I should try and wait for it to get better instead of just running straight to the doctor - dedicated some prayer time for it everyday … but in the end, I waited the 3 days that I had “in mind” and couldn’t stand it any longer. So, my right ear is pretty much swollen shut and hurts pretty badly, but it’s getting better every day. They put this little “wick/sponge” down in there so the medicine can travel down the ear canal. Hope Joy doesn’t decide to light my wick.

Worship Under The Stars is moving along like crazy. We’re still about $20,000 short on the funds needed to make this dream a reality, so please join me in prayer about folks stepping up to the plate and sowing a financial (tax-deductibe, by the way!) gift to Worship International. Practices are steady and the band and vocals sound fantastic.

Our world changes big-time tomorrow … Jon Michael, my oldest son (will be 5 on August 18) starts his first day of Pre-K school at Oglethorpe Elementary School tomorrow. Gotta have him up, dressed, fed, and out the door somewhere between 7:30 - 7:45. Man, I don’t know how all these Moms managed to do it everyday.

Well, I guess there’s much more I could talk about - but that’s enough for now … the itch is satisfied … but stay tuned.

OH YEAH - hooray to NASA and our brave astronauts for a safe return home today. I told our kids that the “space ship” was coming back, and without any prompting, Jon Michael immediately bowed his head and prayed “Dear Jesus, please help the astronauts get back to Earth safely”. Made me smile!

For the Kingdom,
Fred

Worship Under The Stars - Update

Posted on August 3rd, 2005 in Worship Under The Stars by Fred

Hey Ya’ll -

It’s been a while since I “blogged” … I’ve been totally swamped with “Worship Under The Stars”. As I’d mentioned in a previous post, I won’t be posting daily updates for this event here, because we have a separate blog and website for it … but lots has of new info has happened since …

So, please checkout www.worshipunderthestars.com and see how things are progressing.

For those of you who read this blog, and you’re local - we sure hope you’ll come. If you are from out of town - consider coming in for a great little weekend “getaway” … Jekyll Island is called “The Crown Jewel of the Golden Isles”, and we have some great accommodations, rates, and there would be plenty of time for the beach, golf, etc … so bring it on! Airfares to JAX or SAV are usually very competitive, and you can even fly Delta straight into Brunswick (BQK) for reasonable prices.

God bless ya!
FRED