HEADLINE: "Grandpa Dick Decides Not To Run For Governor" The front page of the August 10th Los Angeles Times had pictures of 63 of 158 candidates running for Governor. You will be interested to know that although more qualified than most of them, I have chosen to withdraw my name from consideration. It also may surprise you that most of my qualifications come from my Christian work here at our church. Let me explain: "Acting- Bev and I had the lead role in a church musical a few years back. If you remember, it was nothing to write home about, but it puts me right up there with Arnold. "Senior Citizens- 'To be one is to know one". Denny's Restaurant says I was a Senior at age 55. That gives me ten years experience. Most of the candidates are youngsters. What could they know about our problems? Caring for Bev's Mom in our home would win a lot of votes, and being a Grandparent gives you experiences that will last a lifetime. "Family- You won't find a better support team than the Laughman/Hill/Medlen clan. Of course I hand picked all these fine people to be my relatives. Anyway, the apple doesn't fall far from the tree. "Immigrants- I was unable to help in Shafter because of my Mom's illness, but I heard it was a fine success. I want to express appreciation to the Pastor for leading the project, and to everyone that helped or contributed to this great ministry. It was an example of our Churches working together with the State. "Gay Marriage- Quit making it so difficult and open your Bibles. God expects marriage to be between man and women. Although lacking experience in this area, no one will shake me from my Christian beliefs. (I also have a relative named Gay (Gay Don Gibson), if that helps any. "Budget- This State budget problem could be easily solved. I would propose a "Sin Tax". The new California budget has an $8 Billion deficit. California has a $200 Billion Pornography Industry running rampant in magazines, on the internet, in movies, and getting into TV. A mere 5% "Sin Tax" on pornography would raise $10 Billion. Bingo- problem solved. Too bad I'm not going to run. We could really straighten out this State, couldn't we? So until next time, "Hasta La Vista, Baby" Grandpa Dick

ANNUAL HARVEST FESTIVAL – OUR GIFT TO THE NEIGHBORHOOD
Each year the combined ministries of our Church provide our neighbors with an alternative to “Trick or Treating” on Halloween night. It’s called the Harvest Festival. Neighbors come onto our church grounds and enjoy food, games, prizes and Christian fellowship. We had over 300 participate last year, and volunteers from the Church prepared for a similar crowd this year.
Cake walk, face painting, fish pond, basketball and bean bag toss, clowns, and food booths with hot dogs, soft drinks, nachos, chili beans, candies and cotton candy, are a few of the activities. Everything provided is donated by church members like you, and is given out FREE to everyone. What a great outreach ministry. Our staff and volunteers work tirelessly on preparations. Others give beyond their tithes to underwrite the costs. It is a unique giving opportunity we all should experience. The bible says in Malachi 3:10 that our donations and labors will be rewarded with a “pouring out of an overflow of blessings”! WOW ! And hey, I’m always game for a free hot dog and nachos. Grandpa Dick

Sister Outshines Stump
My sister, Barbara Hints Miller, came through town for a quick visit from her hometown near Phoenix, Arizona. Bobby (as we call her) is a retired Computer Mathematician. She was Chairperson of the Math Department at Grand Canyon Baptist College, before going to Honeywell Systems where she managed a department of creative computer analysts. She also is a writer of textbooks and Baptist Youth Sunday School lesson quarterlies for LifeWay Publications. Before retirement she was Editor in Chief of AE Magazine. (AE is “Artificial Intelligence”)
I asked her what she has been doing lately and she said she is just in the finishing stages of writing a teacher’s manual for a college level textbook on Microsoft’s Office 2003 Powerpoint program. WOW !
So----she asked me what I’ve been doing and I told her we had just finished a Children’s Musical about trees--------and I was the “Stump”-------------------------------------
After the laughter died down, she said she knew of the trees musical and thought it was a great story about how three trees helped Jesus as he walked on Earth. She had met the authors at a writer’s conference and had good things to say about them. (However, she did not know how important the Stump was in the story)
Our kids did an outstanding job getting the message across, and Kristen Moore did a super job of leading us to do our best.
One thought from the musical was that we need to “Bloom where we are planted”. My sister has taken her talents to new levels, and she is doing her best work as a Senior. God expects each of us to see where our talents can “bloom” and excel with mighty vigor. He is waiting for us to step up and apply our talent to His work. “We exhort you in the Lord Jesus, to please God, and excel greatly.” 1 Thess. 4-1.
To me, my sister Bobby is just that, my big sister, and I love her. She loves me too, even though my best work is being a Stump.
Grandpa Dick