Overwhelmed with Love

Going through a crisis situation is so much easier if you don't go through it alone. This past week our family experienced this again. We were so blessed to see how the body of Christ responded to us in our time of need.

Many of our friends who are physicians and nurses came to our aid at the hospital in minutes of our arrival and they continued to care for me and my family through the days and nights that followed.

Many of our friends who work at the hospital came to check on us and they cared for Jennifer, which in turn helped me.

Our great and caring ministerial staff from First Baptist Harlingen proved once again that they really care about their church family, and this time it was expressed toward my family.

Many sent emails and text messages around the world in just a few hours, enlisting prayer warriors to stand in the gap for my family. We have heard from so many around the country who have shared their compassion with us.

Still others have provided tangible things, like child care, meals, cards, and plants. Each filling a different need in our lives at just the right time.
Needless to say, we have been overwhelmed with love and we are grateful to all.

Thank you for being Jesus to the Hood family,
Bro. Wade

Staff Appreciation Month

I do not believe that I can express my gratitude enough to those who have loved on our wonderful staff this month (and of course all during the year). During this month, your staff members have experienced a great outpouring of God's love through the membership of First Baptist Church Harlingen. The letters, gifts, words of encouragment, and many other acts of love have touched our hearts and have served to once again remind us of how blessed we are to serve this great church.

Thank you for your love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self control. Each of these gifts of the spirit have been shown to my family and to the staff. "Thank you" to our family at FBC Harlingen for allowing the Holy Spirit to live through you.

humbled by your love,
Bro. Wade

Amazing Servants at the Fall Family Festival

Computer problems have kept me away for a while, but I seem to have access again; even if for a short time.

Wednesday evening was a clear evidence of how the Holy Spirit is working in and through First Baptist Church Harlingen. Our Fall Family Festival was such a great success. The wonderful volunteers of FBC once again stepped up to the plate and hit a smashing homerun. Everywhere you looked you could see the love of God evidenced in the lives of those who were serving with a smile. The wonderful people on mission with God volunteered to serve food and clean up in the kitchen, to run the many games, to oversee the bouncers and large games, to stand in the door or in the hall to greet people. Each of them were vessels of God's love and were blessed by how they saw God working through them.

I was overwhelmed with the comments I heard that night and since then. Many said things like, "everybody here is so friendly" or "we are so thankful that you do this each year" or "we have never been to your church, but we feel so welcome here" or "how can we be a part of what is going on here?" So many expressed appreciation and amazement at the kindness experessed to them.

Please allow me to add that I too was amazed once again and I am so thankful to be a part of what God is doing through our wonderful church family.

Please pray for those who made decisions at the festival and accepted Christ or rededicated their lives. Pray for those who will be coming to our church in the next few weeks, seeking the same love and grace they experienced at the Festival.

serving and loving together with you,
Bro. Wade

Appreciating my wife

This is the second weekend in a row that Jennifer has been away from the family. Last week she ministered and spoke at a Walk to Emmaus women's retreat, and this week she is participating in the FBC Harlingen women's retreat in Corpus Christi. I had the privilege of spending three days with my children last week and now two days this weekend in intensive "daddy time." I am loving it.

In Jennifer's absence, I find myself recognizing how much she does for our family. I mean, I see it all the time, but when she is not here, there are so many things that are missing. I hope you understand that I am not talking about housework. I have three children and when I am listening to one, who is going to listen to another child? When two children run into each other and both are crying, who holds one while I hold the other? When they each need attention and my eyes cannot cross any farther; who is going to watch their next learned trick?

My wife brings a great deal of love into our home as a vessel of God's love. She pours His love into each of us and does it so often without notice or even a thanks. The Hood family is blessed indeed to have a great wife and mother in Jennifer.

During our current sermon series, so many families have discovered the treasures in their families; we too have found ours. Praise the Lord for our Jennifer.

Proverbs 18:22 (NIV)
"He who finds a wife finds what is good and receives favor from the LORD."

humbled by God's love,
Wade