With the new year approaching, I thought it would be interesting to review 2006 during this final week. Here is Peyton at 11 months old this past August.

With the new year approaching, I thought it would be interesting to review 2006 during this final week. Here is Peyton this past April at 7 months old.

With the new year approaching, I thought it would be interesting to review 2006 during this final week. In particular I want to share some photos from earlier posts to show just how fast my grandson, Peyton, is growing. I hope you enjoy these photos as much as I do. God is good!

February 2006

February 2006

Christmas is almost here. Hopefully, your shopping is almost done and you will be able to relax and enjoy the weekend. Enjoy your family if you are with them. Make the most of this time together and lead them to remember the reason for Christmas – God sending a Savior for each of us in the form of a baby … Christ Jesus.

Come to one of our services on Christmas Eve – 9:15 a.m. at First Baptist Church of Springdale and 10:55 a.m. at Pinnacle Hills. This is always a special time for our church family to be together.

May God bless you with a wonderful Christmas. Merry Christmas from the Floyd Family!

I believe there are way too many bowl games. Therefore, I will pick only a few of those games. I think having so many bowl games has ended up demeaning the experience. I am also in favor of a major Playoff system in Division 1-A college football. If ever done in the right manner, it could be electric and even fit into the bowl season. Oh well, I cannot solve all the world’s problems, but I would love to be empowered to solve that one.

The following serve as my bowl season predictions for the games I have picked for my blog:

• Outback Bowl: Tennessee will defeat Penn State
  If Tennessee plays with fire, it will be over for Penn State!
• Cotton Bowl: Auburn will defeat Nebraska
  If Auburn does not get behind, it will control the game…they are not a come from behind team!
• Gator Bowl: West Virginia will defeat Georgia Tech
  The spread no-huddle offense of West Virginia will show America why their Coach turned down the job at Alabama: Their QB and RB are amazing!
• Capital One Bowl: Arkansas will defeat Wisconsin
  Arkansas’ defense will rise up and say “NO” to Wisconsin and the Razorback’s have much to prove these days to the nation—they will be focused and win!
• Rose Bowl: USC will defeat Michigan
  Michigan did not belong in the title game and USC will help prove it to everyone!
• Fiesta Bowl: Boise State will upset Oklahoma
  The offense of Boise State will be the key, leading to one of the great upsets of the bowl season!
• Orange Bowl: Louisville will defeat Wake Forest
  The incredible offense of Louisville will not be stopped – Coach Petrino is one of the best!
• Sugar Bowl: LSU will defeat Notre Dame
  The Irish will learn how strong and powerful LSU is and the Super Dome will be their home!
• Tostitos BCS Championship Bowl: Florida will defeat Ohio State
  Florida is a great football team, full of talent and speed on both sides of the football. I think it will be the second year in a row where a major upset happens in the championship game. Go GATORS!

There you have it my friend … my bowl picks! Am I right? Keep tabs and we will release the results at the conclusion of the bowl season. Time will tell! Have a great day!

I want to take time this morning to say thank you to Josh Stanbery and all of his team for doing a splendid job on this year’s Christmas Dinner Theater. It had some fun moments, some surprises, and some spiritual moments that helped us remember the reason for Christmas. There was great attendance at each performance, and the new Gatheria was a wonderful place for the event.

We are looking forward to a wonderful time together this Sunday in worship. Don’t miss our Christmas Eve Service – one at each campus. At Springdale, our service will be at 9:15 am and at Pinnacle Hills the service will be at 10:55 am. Don’t forget … Christmas is Jesus’ Birthday – so please be in church this Sunday as we celebrate together.

We will also finish our series on MySpace this Sunday with a message entitled, “My Space is Fair.” I am looking forward to seeing each one of you on Sunday. Let’s pray for each other in these busy days.

Pressing On …

I have been so consumed this week I have not written about the Shiloh Saints football team winning the state championship on Saturday. In a fantastic exhibition of great football played by the offense, the defense, and the special teams, we won 48-6. Therefore, Shiloh football has won a football state championship again, our 4th in our history, the first since 2001.

Due to the performance of this team, the Shiloh Saints finished as the #1 team in their classification, but #4 in the Associated Press ALL Classifications Poll. This is the second time we have finished in the top 10 in the ALL classification poll. In 1998, we finished as the #7 team, the same year we won our first state championship.

This is a great accomplishment for our school. When you think of all the schools in this state and their student populations, our team accomplished a great thing. Even some were calling for Shiloh to be the #1 ranked team in the state of Arkansas of all classifications and we did receive some 1st place votes.

This 14-0 team has brought the winning tradition back to our school, so we applaud the players and managers, their parents, and the coaches. This great accomplishment provides our athletes and coaches an opportunity to share a great testimony about our Lord.

Yes, just as I commend other coaches and leaders in this blog, I congratulate my son, Josh, for coaching this State Championship Team. At age 26, this is a great blessing for him. He has now won a state championship at his alma mater not only as the quarterback of the first team to do so in 1998, but also now as the Head Coach eight years later. God had blessed Josh and he knows it. All of our family is grateful before God. God is very good and we give Him alone the praise.

Our highest congratulations to our 2006 Shiloh Saints Football Team.

J. B. Hunt’s life on this earth ended last Thursday and his memorial service was on Monday, which I had the privilege and honor to lead. The service was very special due to the elements included of music, testimony, and video. God used the message He gave me to share in many lives.

J. B. was a living legacy, not just for Arkansas, but all across the country and into some parts of the world. His life is such a great story of the grace and power of God. He was raised up with dreams and visions that resulted in J. B. Hunt Transport, a trucking firm which is personified by its trucks flooding interstate highways. After leaving school in the 7th grade, God built through Mr. Hunt a company that today has a revenue of at least $3.1 billion, providing jobs for over 16,000 people.

When J. B. Hunt retired from the company, he accelerated into numerous business ventures. He has been the major figure in the new Pinnacle Hills Promenade and entire Pinnacle Hills region, was pivotal in bringing the coming World Trade Center, as well as establishing the Pinnacle Air Executive Jet Charter companies that operates 29 charter passenger jets throughout North America. There are other ventures way too numerous to mention.

The greatest decision J. B. Hunt made was receiving Jesus into his life. He was an unashamed follower of Christ. His second greatest decision was to marry Johnelle. She is a super lady and was a wonderful supporter of her husband. Their marriage of 54 years speaks for itself.

J. B. was a personal friend, a man who was like another father to me. For over 20 years we have lived life together, brought together by our Lord Jesus Christ, a great church, and a common strong commitment to win people to Jesus all across the world. J. B. was a man who brought people to Jesus and people into Jesus’ church.  I loved him dearly and will miss him.

J. B. Hunt was a wise man due to reading the Scripture daily. He read through it from beginning to end at least 15 times and wanted to live the way the Lord wanted him to.  No, he was not perfect as none of us are perfect, but God’s special favor and wisdom rested on this man. The Lord used him to profound us all with his business insights, one-line quips, and contagious personality.

I loved J. B. Hunt and will miss him daily.  

Due to Pastor Floyd’s schedule, and because of ministry needs in our church family, blogging has not come easily. However, please check back on Wednesday, and Pastor will have a special word for you.

At 7:45 a.m. (Hawaii time) 65 years ago today, the Japanese attacked Pearl Harbor. In less than two hours, almost the entire Navy Fleet of our nation in the Pacific was destroyed or not able to function to maximum capacity. Over 2,400 people were killed on that day. This attack thrust our nation into World War II.

All of those who were soldiers in Pearl Harbor who survived the attack are now over 80 years of age. Today, they will have a 65th reunion. Five years ago, only 650 surviving veterans were able to attend, due to their age and physical ability. It will be interesting to see how many are able to attend today. Yes, we have a great nation because of men and women like this.

“Remember Pearl Harbor” became the mantra during those days as our forces fought all over the world for freedom. Today, we do not need to forget it. We do not need to forget that generation … ever. Even after they are gone: never forget.

Yes, today it is proper to:

• Thank all veterans of World War II and every war since that time.
• Pray for our nation.
• Pray for our armed forces located all over the world.

Never forget!