Sunday School

I wanted to say a special thank you to Karen and David Hill for inviting me to share my Zambia story with their Sunday School class this past weekend. David and Karen teach the 12th grade class at First Baptist in Henderson. I feel blessed to have been able to share with these seniors the amazing things the Lord has done with me and for my kids this summer. I really encouraged them to get plugged in to some type of ministry as soon as they hit their college campus; I am a big believer in this. I warned them that many things (both good and bad) will try and steal their time away, and to keep Christ #1. Also- I apologize for not getting my video up; I still haven't figured out how to post it on this site. I will keep everyone up to date.

As far as Acton goes- I will begin our "Re Boot" week on January 6th. I've got two more books to read by next week; the ones I've read so far include The Black Swan and Mastering the Rockefella Habits. Both are great business books that I would highly recommend to anyone running their own business. I am currently reading a book called Made to Stick, which is about clearly communicating. I certainly need to learn from this one!

One more thing- I will be mailing out my Zambia sponsorship packets tomorrow. I hope you enjoy the DVD when you receive it. If for some reason you don't get a packet- please let me know (travisearl14@gmail.com) and I will send you one. Just so that everyone is aware, this is my first time to raise a majority of the money for my mission trip. I am definitely uneasy about "asking" for money from family or friends- it's definitely a pride issue. I would appreciate your prayers; I know the Lord will provide.

I want to wish everyone a Happy New Year- may the Lord bless you and your family!

Romans 12:2,

Travis

Merry Christmas!

I just wanted to wish each of you a Merry Christmas! This brief break has really allowed me to enjoy time with family and reflect on this past semester. I have been busy burning up the roads back and forth from East Texas to Fort Worth meeting with various business people about potential business opportunities post Acton.

Tonight we had a wonderful time with family and friends as we met at the Hills house for dinner. It was so nice to share old and new stories and literally laugh until I cried. The Lord has certainly blessed me with a marvelous family and such wonderful friends!

I hope you have a wonderful, blessed Christmas. Thanks to each of you for your encouragement and prayers throughout this Fall!

Christmas wishes!

Travis

ps- please let me know if you want a copy of my Zambia video- I finished it last week!

Christmas break is finally here! This is a picture of our family at Bass Hall last week. We took Dad out for his birthday to see Ricky Skaggs & Family for their Christmas show. For those of you who don't know, Ricky Skaggs is an amazing bluegrass singer/mandolin player and a very strong believer. It was really amazing- their entire family is so talented.

This morning I had the pleasure to share my Camp Life/Zambia experience with my mom's Sunday School class. The Lord was definitely at work. Becky Pruitt really wanted me to play guitar (which I reluctanlty did). I also got to show them the new DVD I made from Camp Life. Please let me know if you want a copy and I'll be happy to mail you one. If I can figure out how to post the video on this site, I'll put it up soon.

As far as Acton goes- the semester has come to a stop. Two things I'll be busy with over the break include networking and reading five books (for Acton). I definitely am looking forward to a change in pace and getting to spend time with family and close friends from Henderson. I also want to say a special thank you to Kathy Simmons! She hand delivered a coconut pie from the Purple Turnip. This is by far my favorite dessert of all time!

I want to wish everyone a Merry Christmas! I also want to encourage you to take time at some point over Christmas to communicate with your family and friends how much they mean to you. We have so much to be thankful for!

Thankful for Elijah

This week I got the most amazing Thanksgiving gift ever. My little buddy in Zambia, Elijah, wrote me a letter. Here is what he said:

Dear Travis,

How are you? Thank you for praying for me. Happy Thanksgiving. Tell your family that I love them.

Love,
Elijah

Wow- that's all I can say. I need to take notes from Elijah; they tell us at Acton to "get to the point"... Elijah sure knows how to do that. You can see a picture of Elijah right here- he was the one God told me about long before I ever met him. I'm looking forward to meeting up with Elijah again this coming summer. I'll be heading back to Zambia; this time I'll get to do Father's Heart, which will allow me to go see Elijah at his home and hang out for a while. Again, thank you to those who helped make that trip possible last year. I'll be sending y'all a DVD soon over viewing my experience last year...don't worry!

On another note, I wanted to share with y'all the message I got to hear this morning at Austin Stone. Matt Carter delved into 1 Corinthians 11:1-10 and Ephesians 5. He explained the relationship between husbands, wives, and non-married folks (like me) who one day hope to be the former. It was really interesting- he brought to life what it really means for wives to be helpers and husbands to be like Christ to their wives. He told the story about how had he not had a supportive, encouraging wife, that a church known as "Austin Stone" would have never happened. He said he could not have achieved what he had without her.

With that, I wanted to wish everyone a happy Thanksgiving. My cup definitely overflows! God bless.

Robin vs. Wonder Woman: Understanding Biblical Submission and Headship
http://media.austinstone.org/

Overdue Update!

Sorry for not updating everyone for a while! School is definitely in full gear, and I definitely wanted to update everyone on what's been going on. I apologize for those who've emailed (especially my wonderful former assistant Kahty!), please don't think I'm ignoring you.

The big news in our family is that Lesa (my cousin) and Steve Abney (almost my little brother) got engaged! The Lord definitely has brought together two wonderful people- congrats Lesa and Steve! We got to celebrate over a big family dinner last Saturday night at the Red House. Yes, I got away for a weekend and went to Henderson- it was fabulous. Even though I studied pretty much the entire time, it was great to be back home with the entire family (which doesn't happen as often as we'd like). This picture is of me and Michael Anne by the campfire on Saturday night.

Other big news is that Katie and Josh are expecting a baby! It was a real shocker (in a good way). We got to have lunch with the Hills on Sunday and it was wonderful just getting to catch up with two of my best friends in the entire world. The baby is due in June, and I'm hoping to be an adopted uncle soon (wow...that's weird to say).

As far as Acton goes- things are moving along quit well. I'm loving the classes. I'm reminded daily of how blessed I am to be learning from top notch entrepreneurs. We've only got one more full week of school before Thanksgiving, and I am looking forward to wrapping up this semester so that I can concentrate a bit more on my next step post Acton. I hoping to either stay in Fort Worth or Austin- I'll keep you guys updated.

I just found out that on December 14th I will have the privelage to share my Zambia story with my mom's Sunday school class. I am excited to share what God did in my two week stent this past summer. If you're in East Texas around that time- I'd love for you to come!

Everyone please have a BLESSED weekend. Thank y'all for all your prayers! The Lord is definitely directing me each day, even when I'm stubborn to move. Keep in touch and God bless!

Kind regards,

Travis

Philippians 2:5

Mid Terms Finished

Hello everyone! Well, we just got done with mid-terms last week; pretty soon my first of two semesters at Acton will be in the books. It's amazing that at Acton, even when tests are over, you are still challenged. For instance, this week, most of us thought it would be a little less stressful- that was definitely not the case. But, the good news is, our class is doing an amazing job of improving on the "case method". Like I've mentioned before, during class we use the case method to guide our learning. The teacher asks questions, and the students are supposed to answer that particular question with sound logic and evidence gained through 5-8 hours of prep time. This week our class did an exceptional job at building on the previous point; it was neat to see how all the brain power in the room, combined with active listening, reasoned to a very practical and effective course of action.

Okay, one last thing. In our Life of Meaning Class (www.lifeofmeaning.com) I was posed with the following question: If you were to pick one value you hold, one rule you live by, or one commitment you've made that most clearly distinguishes you, what would it be? This question brought to my mind a myriad of thoughts. Here was my answer:

"Growing up, my dad would often say, “Remember who you are.” At age thirteen, I did not fully realize the weight behind Dad’s advice. Today, these words sit like an anchor. To me, here’s what “remember who you” means: be yourself, don’t follow the crowd, be a leader, stand up for the truth, be quick to listen and slow to speak, honesty and integrity matter, honor your family name, do unto others as you’d have them do unto you, don’t ever start a fight, but if you ever get in one- finish it, be a role model to your brother and sister, encourage youth, be bold, do what is right, and finally, follow Christ. “Remember who you are” is the insignia on my life, and through it I have gained both accountability and respect from and to my family.

Have a blessed week, remember what is important, and take time to thank God for your many blessings. God bless!

It Hurts So Good

Well, believe it or not, Acton just got a whole lot tougher. You are warned numerously of how hard the program can get in October. But believe me- it's definitely different when you're in the middle of it. I'd say it's wonderfully difficult and that I'm sickly loving it! How's that?

A friend shared the following video with me. You talk about moving...man. It reminded me real quick of what's important, and where my priorities are, and why I'm doing what I'm doing. I hope it touches you like it has touched me. You can thank my classmate and friend Mike for sharing it with me.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rPLCaAu_H2U&feature=related

Lastly, I wanted to share with everyone a quote that Dad shared with me a few years ago. It is my favorite. Coincidentally, this quote hangs in the entrance of our Acton classroom, otherwise called "the pit". I am definitely being humiliated and knocked down this week. But I know my efforts are not in vain. It's time to get back in the arena- may God bless your week, and may you fail courageously each day!

"It is not the critic who counts: not the man who points out how the strong man stumbles, or where the doer of deeds could have done better. The credit belongs to the man who is actually in the arena, whose face is marred by dust and sweat and blood, who strives valiantly; who errs and comes short again and again; because there is not effort without error and shortcomings; but who does actually strive to do the deed; who knows the great enthusiasm, the great devotion, who spends himself in a worthy cause, who at best knows in the end the triumph of high achievement and who at the worst, if he fails, at least he fails while daring greatly. So that his place shall never be with those cold and timid souls who know neither victory or defeat."