Jul 07
Jeremy LangleyRandom thoughts
I never cease to be amazed at the work God is doing in my life. I am completely and totally humbled by the fact that He has chosen me to preach the Gospel.
There are some very exciting things coming over the next couple of weeks and months. I can’t really go into much detail right now, but I can say that I am more than ready for God to show me exactly what He has in store.
I have plenty to keep my mind busy as all of that plays out. I tend to get a bit antsy, so I’m glad to have other things occupying my restless mind. I’ve been on “vacation” this week. I used it as an opportunity to spend some much needed quality time with Mary before she goes out of town for a week to a conference. I’ve also gotten a lot done around the house over the last few days. My list of projects is long, and I hope to knock a few more out today.
I’ll be back in the office next week. It is going to be a crazy week. Going back after a week off is always hectic, but I’ll also be trying to get things lined out so I can be on vacation again the next week! I’ll be chaperoning church camp the week of July 18, so having only one week in the office between two weeks of vacation will be interesting to say the least!
Back to my to-do list. It doesn’t get done with me in here blogging…
Jun 28
Jeremy LangleyRandom thoughts
I’ve been blessed to stay fairly busy filling pulpits and preaching the Word since I surrendered to the ministry about a year ago, but July will be my busiest month yet. Needless to say, I’m very excited.
I have appointments to preach four out of five all five Sundays in July. I’ve also added preaching dates into August! Here’s my schedule:
- Sunday, July 3 – Bethesda Baptist Church near Fordyce, Ark. (morning and evening services)
- Sunday, July 10 – College Hill Baptist Church near McNeil, Ark. (morning service)
- Sunday, July 17 – Faustana United Methodist Church near Hampton, Ark. (this is actually my mom’s family reunion, and yes, Methodists need to hear the Gospel, too! haha)
- Sunday, July 24 – Bethesda Baptist Church near Fordyce, Ark. (morning and evening services)
- Sunday, July 31 – First Baptist Church of Gurdon, Ark. (morning and evening services)
- Sunday, Aug. 7 – Unity Baptist Church, Hope, Ark. (evening service)
- Sunday, Aug. 14 – College Hill Baptist Church near McNeil, Ark. (morning service)
I’d love to be somewhere on Sunday, July 24. Why leave a Sunday out? That’s taken care of now! God is good!
July will be the closest glimpse I have had into the life of a pastor who is blessed to preach every Sunday. I’m excited about it. I know that God has used this last year and will continue to use every opportunity to prepare me for the time when I move into full-time ministry.
Jun 27
Jeremy LangleyRandom thoughts
Wow… Has it really been nearly four months since I’ve posted? Time sure flies when you’re having fun!
And I’ve been having fun! Life is so much better now than I ever knew it could be, and the best part is that I can see it getting better and better every day.
Being engaged to the most beautiful woman in the world is a HUGE bonus! Mary truly is a gift to me from God. She’s everything I’ve spent the last several years praying for, and I know that she is exactly the woman God has been preparing for me over the last 25 years (my age, not her’s…haha).
The wedding is set for June 23, 2012, but plans are in the works to POSSIBLY move it up to December. I’m keeping my fingers crossed! Our lives are going to change so much over the coming year. I know God has amazing plans for Mary and I, and I can’t wait to watch him reveal those plans to us one day at a time.
Feb 04
Jeremy LangleyRandom thoughts
A picture of my house during the January 9-10 ice storm.
It’s snowing. Again.
I’ve lived along Arkansas’s southern-most border all of my life (if you don’t count they times I was away at college). I can’t remember ever having this much winter weather. Even the great ice storm of 2000 didn’t seem to last this long. The power outages lasted for weeks, but the winter precipitation itself seemed to come and go fairly quick. I sure don’t recall ever missing school or work this much in one season.
Today marks our third “snow day” of 2011. The first two came on January 9-10 when we received a few inches of ice that just wouldn’t melt. At least we’re getting snow today. It’s very pretty to watch it float from the sky, but it’s messing up my plans.
Yep, I’m being selfish. I’d rather be at work right now. You see, if I was at work right now there would be a good chance that the roads were going to be passable tonight. But that’s not the case. From media reports I’m receiving, roads are pretty treacherous in parts of the state to our north. I’d like to go to Hope this evening, but it looks like it will have to wait until tomorrow.
Why Hope? Well, dear readers, there is a very special girl in that southwest Arkansas town with the claim to fame of being the birthplace of Clinton (you know, Bill, the president, married to Hillary). I haven’t seen her since Sunday. I’m kind of going through withdrawals.
Modern technology will have to get us through one more day. If the roads are still bad tomorrow, I may have to call on of my National Guard friends. Maybe they’ll loan me a Humvee.
Aug 09
Jeremy LangleyCurrent Events, Random thoughts
Kind of a strange headline, huh? Last week was kind of a bad week for me. I’d venture to say it was one of the worst weeks I’ve had in several years. I had even begun to think that the direction I had begun to take in my life was all wrong. It was as if I had missed the turn completely. I didn’t know what to do. Let’s start from the beginning.
Now, I’m not going to use specific details because I don’t want to glorify the actions of the other person, and I don’t want to risk stirring the pot anymore than it already has been by letting you know who I am talking about. I don’t even know if that person knows I blog, so I doubt they ever ready this, but I hope they do. I think the lessons I learned could help that person too.
In the course of my day-to-day life I deal with a lot of people. I deal with people at work, and I deal with people in my personal life. I like people. But last week I came across a person of whom I quickly decided I wasn’t too fond. This person said very, very mean things about me personally, professionally, and every other way you can imagine. He even had the nerve to tell me that I would never be successful in life and that my career was heading nowhere but the sewer. He also told me that he had just finished telling these same things about me to people that I look up to greatly and that I see as my mentors. I was devastated.
After this person said all of these things to me, I was mad. I was upset. I was confused. I was hurt. I didn’t know how to process it. I tried to put it all behind me, but no matter what I tried to do it kept coming back. And it didn’t stop with that one attack on Monday. An attack came again on Tuesday, and even though I don’t know the direct source of the attack, I’m 99.9 percent sure it originated from this same person I had the falling-out with on Monday.
I had just gotten out of class on Tuesday evening when the second attack came. I was distraught. I went straight home, fell on my knees, and prayed. It’s all I knew to do. I needed direction from above. I then resumed my normal nightly rituals while the battle raged on in my mind. I wanted to get back at this person, but I knew I could not do that without causing the situation to deteriorate even further. Finally it came to the point in the evening when I read a book. I like to read before going to bed. It’s just a habit I’ve formed over the years. As long as it’s not a text book, I’ll read it!
I have forgotten what I was reading at the time, and when I reached for the book on my nightstand I read the cover and felt an immediate peace fall over me. You see, the book I was reading was entitled “God is in Control.” What an awesome statement – especially in the troubling moments I had been facing. The book was written by Dr. Charles Stanley (by far my favorite TV preacher – although he has nothing on my pastor – and one of my favorite authors). When I opened to where my bookmark was placed, the headline read “God can use adversity.” Again, I am in awe.
Dr. Stanley asks, “Is God in everything?” He answers by saying, “According to what the Word says, ‘God causes all things to work together for good …’ (Romans 8:28). Just in time God demonstrates His awesome, irresistible power.”
After reading that, I wasn’t near as mad as I had been. I wasn’t near as upset as I had been. I began to understand, and I began to get excited. Because I can’t help but think that when God uses that awesome, irresistible power, it’s going to be to bring that person who hurt me to his knees. I try not to judge people, but as my grandfather – a pastor for over 40 years – always said, “You can always be a fruit inspector.” Well, in my humble opinion, the guy who said those mean, hurtful things to me is covered in rotten fruit. His actions and his personal life show it. I pray that he seeks out the saving grace of Jesus for his life if he doesn’t already have it. And if he has, I hope he finds his way back to the straight and narrow pathway that Jesus has paved for us.
After I was reminded what Romans 8:28 said, and after talking with my pastor, I decided the situation wasn’t worth worrying about. In fact, I was no longer mad at the man who insulted me. You see, through this trial, that man helped me to strengthen my relationship with God. This person didn’t tear me down like they were trying to do, they lifted me up. They told me I’d never be successful, but what they didn’t know is that I have a mansion being built by a king on a street lined with pure gold. I don’t know how that could ever be topped!
“God causes all things to work together for good …” He never ceases to amaze me.
May 22
Jeremy LangleyRandom thoughts
It’s hard for me to believe that I’ve lived in Magnolia for a year now. When I started my job at Southern Arkansas University in May 2008, I didn’t know exactly what I was getting myself into, but I must admit that the last year has been one of the best I’ve had yet.
Over the course of the last year, I’ve grown a lot. I understand that the world isn’t as simple as I once thought it was, and I’ve learned that people you’ve only known for a short time can be your most trusted allies. Of course, there are some people I’ve met over the last year that I wouldn’t put in that last category!
My job has taken me to some interesting places and allowed me to do some things that I likely wouldn’t have done otherwise. I traveled to Oklahoma City for a conference and got taken to dinner in a limo while there. On the way home, I apparently barely missed Carrie Underwood’s grandpa at a gas station in Checotah, Oklahoma. I traveled to five states in two days last summer looking at rodeo arenas. That trip not only expanded my horizons about rodeo arenas, but it helped me to sharpen my political debating skills (you had to have been there). I’ve helped put on an NCAA regional baseball tournament and worked a 100+ hour week in the process. I’ve been to the Governor’s Mansion twice and am going back next month. I’ve been to more political events than I can count, and I’ve gained wisdom by watching some of the brightest minds in higher education do their work.
One of the accomplishments I’m most proud of is the coordination of the University’s Centennial events. I can’t claim much of the successes as my own, but I’ve been honored to chair the steering committee. On April 1 during the event we called “Founders’ Day,” my boss’s wife came up to me during the Tracy Lawrence concert and said, “Jeremy, when you took this job, I bet you thought you were getting some little bitty assistant to the president’s job, didn’t you?”
To be honest, I didn’t know exactly what I was getting myself into when I started my job as Assistant to the President for Special Projects, but I’m glad I did. If this first year is any indication of what the future holds, I’m more blessed than I could ever imagine.
Mar 29
Jeremy LangleyRandom thoughts CASE, John Grisham, Magnolia, Oklahoma City, Walmart
I was just about to write a thought-provoking, insightful blog post about something extremely important, but I was temporarily distracted, and now I can’t remember what that topic was. Oh, well. I’m sure it will come back to me later.
I read a book this weekend. That’s right. I read a book. The whole thing – cover to cover. It was the latest from John Grisham, “The Apprentice.” I absolutely love anything with Grisham’s name on it as author. He is one of the only writers who can keep my attention. I bought this latest book on Thursday night during a quick trip to Walmart, Magnolia’s social Mecca. I started on it as soon as I got home, and thanks to a day off work on Friday, I turned the last page sometime around 2 p.m. Saturday. What an awesome book. My only complaint, and this is my complaint with every Grisham book, is that the ending leaves one hanging. In almost every book, they just ride, boat, or drive off into the sunset. I want to know what happens next. Maybe he’ll write a book one day that does nothing but give the ends of the stories.
This time next week I’ll be at the Skirvin Hilton Hotel in downtown Oklahoma City. I’m attending the CASE conference. For those who don’t know, that’s the Council for the Advancement and Support of Education. I’m looking forward to it. I’m glad that my job allows me to travel from time to time. It seems to be getting more frequent here lately – even if some are only day trips. It gets me out from behind my desk and out of the office. I love my job, but I hate sitting behind a desk all day.
Now back to thinking about my last topic. I promise, as soon as I remember what it was, I’ll provoke your thoughts. OH, and add Paraguay and Indonesia to the global phenomenon that is JeremyLangley.com!
Until next time…
Mar 07
Jeremy LangleyRandom thoughts Centennial, Daylight Savings Time, First Baptist Church, KATV
So I’m ahead of schedule. I’ve already set my clocks ahead by one hour in hopes that I won’t arrive at church in the morning just in time for the invitation. Actually, I’m planning on going to Sunday school. (For those who might not know – and probably don’t really care – I moved my membership to the First Baptist Church of Magnolia last week, so I haven’t been to Sunday school there yet.)
Back to this “springing forward” of the clocks. I really don’t appreciate it. Does Congress not realize how busy we Americans are these day? Can we really afford to lose an hour? I can’t. I’ve got a lot going on – trips to Little Rock for work, planning the University’s 100th birthday party (the BIGGEST party in a century), leaving for a five-day conference in Oklahoma City only two days after the party – and I don’t think it will ever end. I NEED THAT HOUR!!
I wonder what would happen if, say, you moved from the Central Time Zone to the PacificTime Zone on the night of the springing forward. Would you essentially fool the system and not only gain back your stolen hour but get an extra one, too? Maybe I need to stop thinking about this stuff so much.
While watching the news tonight (KATV, of course), I was reminded why we do this whole Daylight Savings Time thing. Congress thinks we save energy by messing with time. There are still just as many hours of daylight as there are if we didn’t switch. I think it’s all a bunch of bull.
Now on to something more productive – sleep (I hope).
Mar 05
Jeremy LangleyRandom thoughts
It’s true! Everyone is reading JeremyLangley.com! (So I’m stretching it a bit, forgive me.)
I just looked at the analytics of the site, and since the launch less than a month ago, there have been 66 readers from Arkansas and one each from California, Minnesota, Michigan, and Tennessee. Two have logged on from Georgia, and two have clicked on JeremyLangley.com all the way from the United Kingdom! I have actually had international readers!
So, what is the next step, you might ask? You have to tell all of your friends, family, and every stranger you meet on the street to log on. Be sure and comment while you’re here.
Now, back to the serious news.
Mar 04
Jeremy LangleyRandom thoughts
I have given up all carbonated beverages for Lent – and I’m Baptist.
Let’s start from the beginning. I’m addicted to Dr. Pepper. Yes, addicted. It’s like a drug. Over the last several years, I’ve tried to quit or even just cut back, but my attempts have been only temporary resulting in a relapse. I’ve even considered contacting that television show “Intervention.” But they’re dealing with real drug addicts.
When I have tried to give them up in the past, I’ve gone cold turkey. I’ve cut out all carbonated drinks and all caffeine. When I did this, I went through caffeine withdrawals. Literally. I had a massive headache that lasted for days on end, and nothing would touch it.
Fast forward to today. I have friends who are Catholic, and I saw on their Facebook pages where they were giving up certain things for Lent. I don’t even know what Lent is nor have I attempted to find out. I just thought it sounded cool, so I announced that I was giving up all carbonated beverages – not just Dr Pepper – for Lent. So far, I’ve made it a week. I am still drinking beverages with caffeine (coffee, tea, etc.), so I haven’t had any of the withdrawal problems. I am determined to make it the full 40 days of Lent without any type of carbonated beverage. (And, yes, I only know that Lent is 40 days because I watched that movie “40 days and 40 nights.”)
So, wish me luck! One week down, six to go!
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