memorialbaytown

It's been too long since I've posted on here.  I'm sure all of my faithful readers are beside themselves, not knowing how to make it in life without a post from Dave ;)  Much has transpired since my last post.  The summer is over and school is back in session.  Our oldest daughter, Ashley, started kindergarten at Harlem Elementary this very week.  She already filled up her chart and got to get a toy from the toy chest on her second day.  She's an overachiever, what can I say.  That first day of school was a little hard on me and Hillary.  There were a few tears shed, but none by Ashley.  Drew and Anna Kate are in class here at the church two days a week.  They are in Ms. Shiela and Ms. Dorla's class.  Good luck to those two teachers ;)

Gustav is coming our way.  Keep an eye out for the storm.  Five day projections currently have the storm making landfall somewhere near Louisiana late Sunday evening.  They are saying to keep a close eye on it as it enters the Gulf and heads our way.  We're not out of the path just yet. 

Feel free to use these links...

http://www.wunderground.com/tropical/tracking/at200807.html
http://www.nhc.noaa.gov/

So the storm wasn't all it was cracked up to be.  Other than lot's of rain and some tree debris in the grass, Edouard wasn't much of a storm.  To me, one of the most entertaining parts of the storm was to watch the weather people on t.v. try to play up the intensity of the storm as if it was some monster of a storm that was going to destroy us all.  It was very entertaining to me.  I guess all Edouard means for the Branham family is that I'll be mowing the lawn twice this week ;)

Hope your Edouard experience was as uneventful as mine...

It's Monday evening around 8:15pm.  I'm at home with my family.  I already went to the store to stock up on water and food and the like.  Right now it looks like the storm will hit landfall tomorrow around noon and will be a strong tropical storm or a weak category 1 hurricane.  I'm not sure what this means for Baytown.  I've read several different weather blogs and some have it hitting near Galveston while others say it might turn north and be closer to the Texas - Louisiana border.  I guess only time will tell.

I'm not really sure what to do in a hurricane.  I grew up with earthquakes in CA, then lived in Oklahoma where we faced tornados and now I'm here waiting for my first hurricane.  There is a bit of excitement with the thought of a storm coming our way.  People are starting to lose their minds a little bit.  I'm sure some of you have seen the craziness at the gas pumps or the grocery stores.  Let me take the chance to remind you that we serve a huge God that is still in control.  Rest in Him tonight.

Happy anniversary babe, I LOVE YOU!!!

That message was for my wife, just to be clear.  Eight years ago on this day we stood in front of God, family and friends and entered a covenant marriage relationship.  Two became one that day.  Here we are eight years later and we're still one!  Obviously, we have had our highs and our lows just like everyone else but these last eight years have been the best of my life. 

Hillary, I love you more today than I ever have!!!

I requested today off and arranged for my mom to watch our kiddos.  Hillary and I will get to spend the entire day together.  We have been looking forward to this for a long time.  As much as we love our kiddos, one day they will grow up and move away (God willing).  We've often discussed how our marriage cannot and must not center around our kids.  We've heard story after story about how husbands and wives make the center of everything their kids, then when their kids leave home, they are left with a shallow relationship that ends in divorce.

My encouragement to you today is to spend some time with each other.  Make sure you guys have your priorities in the right order; God, each other, then kids...I don't know everything nor do I claim to, but I do know that at age 47 we will be left with an empty house staring at each other wondering where the time went...I pray that we will have more to talk about then just our crazy kids.

Congrats to Joseph and Heather Taylor as their baby girl was born yesterday evening.  I know her name is Natalie Claire, weighing 9lbs and 2oz, measuring 20 and 3/4 inches long...and that's about it.  Anyone else know more than me?  Please comment and let us know...

If you weren't able to come out and see the band on Friday night and make the midnight movie, you definitely missed out.  The Access was phenomenal.  Their album will be released in September and I have no doubt they will make it big in a relatively short time.  The movie was too late for my tastes and gave me a nightmare but it was well attended and everyone had a great time.  In fact, I read that The Dark Knight brought in the most money in its opening weekend of any movie of all time.

On top of all that, I got to mow my lawn, or should I say bail some hay, change out the locks to our house, fix two toilet leaks, edit a SMAK video, and shoot the SMAK presentation.  It was a crazy weekend for the Branhams, but at least it's Monday...right?  Yay for Mondays ;)

 

Tomorrow night is going to be a long one.  The band, "The Access," will take the stage at the 621 Building at 7pm.  If you haven't heard of this band, they are local.  They have opened for Leeland on several occasions and are in the process of releasing an album.  This is your chance to get to see them before they get so famous you can't afford a ticket.  After the concert, the 621 Building will remain open for everyone to hang out.  You'll want to get to the theater here in the mall by 11:30pm to get your tickets for the premiere showing of, "The Dark Knight."  The ticket price is the regular price for a movie.  Please invite some friends, as we have a minimum number we need to hit for the theater.  Get some sleep now, cause Friday is going to be a long one...

So yesterday was a long one.  After work we had a student ministry LIFEgroup at the Barnhills, then I headed to Gentry to workout with a bunch of crazy guys, then I finally made it home.  I had given Hillary a heads up about doing something special tonight with the kids because they are heading to Lake Jackson for the weekend.  This was my last night with them so I wanted to do something special.  I got home about 9:30pm when the kids were put in bed around 8pm.  I took a quick shower then put on my pj's and then Hillary and I woke them up and told them that we were going on a donut run!  We were greeted by screams of excitement and, "Daddy, I love you!"  We loaded up and headed to Shipley Donuts only to find out that Shipleys was closed.  So we altered the plan and made our way to Baskin Robins.  Our donut run became an ice cream run.  We all got ice cream (don't read this part Jason) then headed home and right back to bed.  We had a great time as a family.

Moms and dads, try and find a way to create some memorable moments with your family.  They grow up fast.  As much as we are looking forward to empty nesting at age 47, we don't want to look back and have regrets.

If you do something like this with your family, post a comment and let us know.  We can all benefit from each other's ideas...

Saturday evening the Branham family was enjoying some fajitas at the home of the Merediths along with some other families when Jaden came in and told Shane that Cullen had hit his head and was hurt pretty bad.  It turns out that Cullen had somehow managed to put his head in the path of the ceiling fan's blades.  He had a pretty good knot on his forehead with just a little blood.  He was running around by the end of the night. 

At this point you might be asking yourself, why are you telling me this?  Millions of boys get hit by ceiling fans everyday.  But here is the cool part of the story.  This morning as we're leaving for SMAK, Ashley tells me completely out of the blue that she has been praying for Cullen that his head won't hurt.  Talk about being a proud father.  I'm proud when my son does push-ups and flexes his muscles or when Anna Kate sings out The Aggie War Hymn, but I've never been prouder as a father.  My 5 year old daughter was praying for someone else, she was putting someone else in front of herself.  Wow.

So the challenge is set before us, modeled by a 5 year old.  Who are you putting in front of yourself today?  Who are you praying for?

I wanted to give you a heads up.  Our Student Ministry has reserved the theater here in Baytown at the mall on Friday, July 18, at 11:30pm for the premiere showing of "The Dark Knight."  While we are pushing this with our Students we always need some adults as sponsors to provide some type of authority.  I would love for you to show up and help out if you can.  Let me know if you plan on making the movie. 

email me here >>>

If you've never podcasted before, you are missing out.  I've been podcasting for a while and have found it's a great way to grow and be challenged in my walk on a daily basis.  I want to give you a few pointers and some links to some good podcasts to get you started on your way to being a podcast guru.

First of all, you do not need to own an iPod to be a podcaster.  This is a common misconception made by the general public.  They hear the word "pod" and automatically assume that an iPod is needed.  Don't let the word throw you.  Personally, my family has 3 iPods and we use them all.  We have an iPod shuffle (that you can buy for $49), a video iPod, and I just bought Hillary an iPod Touch.  While you do not need an iPod to be an avid podcaster, I would recommend purchasing one because they are now cost effective and come in very handy in everyday life.  I am proud to admit that I rarely listen to the radio in my car nor do I subscribe to a radio service.  Instead, I get to listen to what I want to, when I want to.  But enough with my iPod sales pitch ;)

You will need to download some free software if you haven't already downloaded it.  It's called iTunes and you can download it for free here.  iTunes is simply software that allows you to organize your music and videos and listen to them when you want.  If you do own an iPod, it is also how you get your music and videos from your computer to your iPod.  iTunes will handle your podcasts.  Once you subsribe to a podcast, iTunes will actually download the files on its own and will have them available for your listening/viewing pleasure.

Once you have iTunes open, go to the "advance" drop down menu and select "subscribe to podcast."  Then just paste the podcast links I have below and you are on your way.  Once you've subscribed to some podcasts just click on the "podcasts" icon and words in the left hand column on your iTunes interface.  It will display all the podcasts you have subscribed to.  You can select which files you would like to watch or listen to and enjoy. 

Here are some recommended podcasts from my personal library

• http://www.memorialbaytown.com/Rss.aspx?ContentID=88159 - Memorial Baptist Church // Baytown, TX // Brad Hoffmann



• itpc://web.mac.com/brook.hills/Brook_Hills_Podcast/The_Church_at_Brook_Hills/rss.xml - The Church at Brook Hills // Birmingham, AL // Dr. David Platt



• http://phobos.apple.com/WebObjects/MZStore.woa/wa/viewPodcast?id=82014403 (clicking on this link will open it in iTunes, you will need to subscribe to the podcast through iTunes) - The Village Church // Highland Village, TX // Matt Chandler



• http://phobos.apple.com/WebObjects/MZStore.woa/wa/viewPodcast?id=129084376 (clicking on this link will open it in iTunes, you will need to subscribe to the podcast through iTunes) - Breakaway Ministries // College Station, TX // Ben Stuart

You can also search for more podcasts through iTunes itself.  Just select the "iTunes Store" on the left column on your iTunes interface and search for podcasts on the upper right corner where it says, "search iTunes store."  Let me know if you have any questions.

Happy podcasting...

Tonight my brother, Rob, and his entire family, wife Joni and kids Reagan, Mallory, Audrey, and Elijah, will arrive around 9:30pm.  They are flying in from serving in the mission field in Asia.  We haven't seen them in over two years so you can imagine what it will be like when we all get to see them.  My parents are in from Trinidad/Tobago and my sister and her family of 9 (soon to be 10) will be there to welcome them home.  I have always looked up to my big bro, Rob.  He is eight years older than me and was the one who taught me everything about sports and life.  He left a career in technology to pack up his family of 6 to serve in the mission field.  I look up to him more today than I ever did as a small child. 

I get the special opportunity to interview Rob and Joni on August 3 at both campuses as we explore the concept of missions and sharing your faith.  I hope you get the chance to be there as I interview one of my heroes.

I'm sitting here in my condo on the beach in South Padre on Sunday morning.  We're about to load up and go to the morning worship.  It's been a good week so far.  I've seen some growth already...and almost as importantly ;) we won the dodgeball tournament for the whole camp!  All of our training has paid off ;)  Continue to pray for us as God is not finished working in the lives of these students.

So I waved goodbye to my family as they drove off to Lake Jackson in the Tahoe.  They will stay the night in LJ then will drive to South Padre and I will see them on Thursday.  So now I'm here doing laundry and packing bags.  Not to mention nailing down loose ends that are always a part of taking a trip of this magnitude.  Camps are always a little exciting and stressful at the same time.  I'm excited to see what God is going to do in the lives of teenagers.  I can't wait to hear a couple thousand teenagers praise Him as only teenagers can.

Please keep us in your prayers.  Pray for safety on the roads, that students come to know Him, and that He is glorified this week.

What I learned this year at VBS is that I don't like working with kids.  Now hang with me, don't lose me on the first comment.  I have 3 young kids and I love them dearly, but when it comes to working with younger kids; I do not enjoy it.  Working with young kids is definitely not my sweet spot.  Now what does this realization mean in my life and ministry?  Does it mean that I don't ever have to help out with kids?  Does it mean I should become a children's minister? 

I believe we all have been given gifts and talents by God to use for His glory.  We definitely have "sweet spots" that we are passionate about and that we enjoy doing.  I also believe that as followers of Christ we are called to make sacrifices.  For me, this past week was one of those sacrifices.  Where are you making sacrifices to further His kingdom?

I pray that we all find our "sweet spot" in ministry and life.  What is yours?  What gifts and talents has God given you?  Are you using them?  Where are you making sacrifices?  How did you give God glory today?

As you know, the transmission on our Tahoe went out so we have been all cramming into our Toyota Yaris and doing the one car dog and pony show that I'm sure everyone can relate to.  What you may not know is that we had some "angels," who won't tell us their names, arrange for the repairs to the Tahoe.  We received our Tahoe this past Monday completely fixed and better than ever.  The entire Branham family wants to say thank you to those that had a part in this special gift.  We are humbled by the gesture and very grateful that we have 2 cars once again.  Thank You!!!!

I believe that Satan would love for us to be blinded when it comes to finances.  We've all heard the stats about how many marriages end because of finances and we can't even count how many times spouses have slept on couches over money disputes.  Finances are a huge deal and we're kidding ourselves if we think otherwise.  The Bible has a lot to say about money and life, but I came across this video that combines humor and truth that I think will open your eyes in a different way.  Craig Groeschel is the pastor of LifeChurch.tv who produced this video as an illustration in one of their messages.  You will need access to Youtube to be able to view the video...

Brad is now out of the hospital and heading home!  He finished up some tests and has finally been released.  Thank you for your prayers!

Brad is still in the hospital as of this morning.  The word is that they are running a couple of tests this morning then they are hopeful that he will be released.  If you know Brad in the least, you can only imagine how crazy he's been the last few days couped up in a hospital room.  Continue to pray for him and his family, I am sure they are ready to get back to life...

It's Tuesday morning and Brad is still at St. Lukes.  The good news is that anything heart related has been ruled out, but they're still looking at some tests coming back.  We are hopeful that he will be released today.  Keep him and his family in your prayers.

It's Monday morning at 9:41am.  Brad is still at St. Lukes waiting to see his doctor.  They ran some tests yesterday and are hoping to get to the cause of his fainting yesterday evening.  There are all types of rumors going around about heart attacks and such but I want to clarify that those are just rumors.  The doctors told him that he did not have a heart attack.  Please keep the Hoffmanns in your prayers and we will keep you posted when we know something more.

---

Pray for us tonight as we load up a bunch of teenagers and head to the Wavepool in Mont Belvieu then on to Zuma Fun Center in north Houston.  It's not too late.  If you know of any Jr. or Sr. High students that would be interested, we're leaving from the 621 Building at 6:15pm.  We'll return to the parking lot at 7am.  We would also welcome any adults that are crazy enough to come out and help ;)

---

Just wanted to say congratulations to Lee and Leila on receiving the Governor's Community Connector award.  You can read the article in the Baytown Sun here.  They do an amazing work in our community, and are an example to us all to help out and be Jesus here in the bay area.  Congrats and thanks for making a difference!

---

Think back to when your kids were born.  The months of anticipation.  What will they look like?  What will their laugh sound like?  What sport are they going to play for Texas A&M ;) ? 

I came across the story of baby Finley on FoxNews.com.  You can read the article here.  Finley's mother chose to abort him at 8 weeks because of the likely-hood that Finley was going to have problems with his kidneys based on her previous experiences.  But Finely survived the "procedure," if you have the guts to call it that, and was born with no problems at all.  Wow.

As voting season is upon us, please consider how precious life is when you vote.  I know that there are other issues that are seemingly important, but think back to when your kids were born, and remember that there is no greater issue than life.  Who we elect as our next president will appoint supreme court justices that directly affect how precious life is.  Please have your priorities in the proper order when you cast that ballot.

---

Just wanted to let you know that we booked the band Candlefuse for a Thursday night, June 12, concert at 621 for students and any other young at hearts that would enjoy some loud "upbeat" Christian music ;)

We also have secured them to lead worship at the North Campus on Sunday, June 15, but don't be too worried, the Praise & Worship set will fit the North Campus model. 

Get the word out.  Invite someone to join in worship with Candlefuse on Thursday, June 12, or Sunday, June 15!!!

watch one of their music videos below...

---

I turned 32 on Monday.  Typically, people become reflective on their birthdays.  They begin to examine their lives and question whether or not they are making the most with the few years they have on this planet.  I don't go that far, I just feel old.  I'm well aware that 32 is technically young and that I have my whole life in front of me, but my body is telling me just the opposite.  I'm reminded of that country song that goes, "if I could write a letter to me..."  The premise is about the advice that an older version would give to a younger version of the same self.  The first thing I would tell my young self would be not to listen to all those crazy coaches that told me to sacrifice my body.  What kind of crazy advice is that?  You're 13 years old, don't sacrifice your body, you only get one!  As I am barely able to roll out of bed each morning with all my creeks and snaps and pops, I would just like to say thank you to all my crazy coaches I had over the years.  Maybe I should send them my medical bills ;)

---

Picture this, the entire Branham family riding together in our Toyota Yaris to drop me off at work.  As life would have it, the transmission is going out on our Tahoe and our Yaris is all we have.  So Hillary, Ashley, Drew, Anna Kate, and myself all piled into this little bitty clown car and headed off to the office.  For you to catch the full impact of this story you will also need to know that Hillary and I had just had a little "disagreement" before we left the house this morning.  So it was all that much more fun as we were all crammed in this death trap and fuming from the "discussion."  What an awesome morning!

But here is where it gets cool.  The song, "Blessed Be Your Name" comes on the radio.  All three Branham kids begin to sing along in only a way that two 3 year olds and a 5 year old can.   They always sing the chorus as loud as they can.  "BLESSED BE THE NAME OF THE LORD, BLESSED BE YOUR NAME!"  And then it really hits me when they start singing the part that goes, "You give and take away, you give and take away, my heart will chose to say, Lord blessed be Your name."  Obviously my three kids don't grasp how a sovereign God chooses to give and take away and the ramifications that means on our lives, but they know that God is good a