Pastor Mike Morris will Speak @ SNL This Week August 10th @ 6:30pm

Mike is a former engineer, and is now pastor of Cornerstone Community Church in Galax, Virginia. He has been married to his high-school sweetheart Jennifer for 13 years and they have 3 amazing kids, Emma, Luke, and Drew. Mike is passionate about teaching God’s Word so that lives can be transformed.

Check out FatthEngineer http://www.faithengineer.com/

SouledOut will be there!

Don’t miss it! Praise, Preaching, and Watermelon and Fellowship. What more could we ask?

Youth, step up to the plate and give the gift of LIFE!

OK Youth, Step up to the Plate!

It is official, any youth that is 16 and above can now give blood with permission from your parent. There will be a drive at First UMC Hillsville this Saturday from 10am-4pm. This is our opportunity to give back to the community is a sacrificial way.

Get a FREE Tee shirt at the Red Cross Blood Drive at First United Methodist Churchof Hillsville on Saturday, August 9th between 10 AM and 4 PM.

 

The Red Cross is supplying these tee shirt give-away’s as an incentive, but I know most of you also know the value to the community and your friends when emergencies happen and there is a need for blood and blood products, whether for planned or emergency surgery, or just to sustain life during critical times.

 

But if getting a tee-shirt “sweetens the deal” to the point you will come and donate, the please do so.  I’ll be there wearing mine – proudly!

 

Blood donors must be in generally good health and must be at least 16 years of age.**

 

Each donor must have a valid form of ID at the time of registration.

 

Be a new first time donor or give as a repeat donor – your help is needed!

 

If you can’t donate, volunteers to assist those who do donate are also needed to assist with registration, to escort donors after donation, and to work at the refreshment table.

 

Please contact me if you think you can donate or if you think you can help out as a volunteer.

 

**16 Year Olds must have parental permission to donate – either by having a parent accompany them to the donation site on Saturday, or by contacting me so I can provide an advance permission packet for parents to review and sign for the donor to bring to the drive on Saturday.

 

Thank you ALL for your prayers and support for this very worthy community project!

 

 

 

Bill Webb

Red Cross Blood Drive Coordinator for Hillsville

276-728-4883

 

 

 

 

Caring for the Fatherless

Kyle and I were riding the bikes on Tuesday afternoon and we found a litter of puppies that someone set out. They were all huddled together in the side ditch and when they heard us coming it looked like a cloud coming toward us. They were so hungry they tried to nurse our bicycles. They are beautiful babies, 5 solid black, 1 brown with some black markings and one black with brown markings on the legs. We have no idea what the breed is but they are sweet and beautiful creations of a loving God. They are free to a Great Home. We will keep them as long as it takes but we really can’t afford to keep them all. Call or e-mail, we will deliver.

Ronnie

Stepping Out on Faith

We did it! Misty has had a dream of staying home to look after Samuel and we have made the decision that she will stay at home this year. We talked with the High School today and it is official, Misty is unemployed. It just means that we are excited to see what God does with this new move. We are blessed that mom kept Samuel last year and she is disappointed that she will not have him every day this year. With the addition of Kyle into the family we feel it is the best thing to do. Remember us in your prayers, God has never and will never forsake us.

Ronnie

My Collection of Great Runs

Here are some really great races you may want to check out. I would love to list all of the 5, 8 and 10K Races that I have run through the years but they are numerous and that would be impossible to do here. All of these are memorable for different reasons but probably the two most memorable are the 1st Marathon I ever ran, The Kiawah Island because it was my first. I will never forget the feeling of excitement and accomplishment of crossing the finish line at 4:15. I will also never forget the way I felt for the next few hours. I literally had to pick my legs up with my hands and place them on the ground after sitting in the car for a few miles. Part of that was just not enough training, the most miles I trained for any Marathon has been 13 at one run and I have successfully completed 7 of them. However I am planning to build to at least a 20 mile training run for my next one, that is the smart thing to do.

The second most memorable was the Creeper Trail Marathon. I remember getting out of bed that morning and there was snow on the ground. e called to see if they were planning to cancel the race and the reply was “Why Would We”? When we got to the race site, there was 6 inches on the ground. The first 13 miles was fun, the fresh snow falling in your face, it was beautiful. However the last 13 miles was soggy and pretty miserable but I wouldn’t trade that experience.

The total number of Marathon Finishers is small compared to the population.

 

	2000	2001	2002	2003	2004	2005	2006	2007
Total Finishers	299,000	295,000	324,000	334,000	362,000	383,000	397,000	407,000

Stats are from http://www.marathonguide.com/features/Articles/2007RecapOverview.cfm

Virginia Creeper Marathon

 

 

Myrtle Beach Marathon

http://www.mbmarathon.com/Home.htm

Hickory North Carolina

 

Beckley West Virginia Half Marathon