Hello My name is Bacon...

Sunday, August 01, 2010

9:23 PM

Hello my name is Bacon or Jessica and I am a preacher's wife. I am sure that you have already thought something about that statement, but what if I told you that a few years ago I would have to introduce myself like one of the following: Hello my name is drugee, or Hello my name is being abused by my husband, or Hello my name is dead woman walking, or Hello my name is Jessica and I don't know who I am. Can you relate to any of these statements? Now does it change your ideas of what you thought when you read the first line of this pamphlet? So you are probably thinking how did you go from that to a preacher's wife. Well I will tell you, it started with a visit from God one day. Most people have a strange idea that God doesn't talk to people anymore and that he doesn't care. This is what I thought until that day. You see I had hit a pretty low spot in my life. I knew that I was in a loveless marriage with an abusive man. I had been drugged up for almost 3 years, and that day I snapped on my little baby and threw him into a car seat. I thought that dying was the only way out so that is what I was doing in that room that day, I was asking God to just kill me. Instead God came to that room and gave me some simple words "Follow Me". I did not understand so I said, "How do I follow you?" and he just said "I will show you the way if you will follow me." Well I did not just close my door and wait for God to open the door, I just got back to living my life. First I got sober so that I could think straight. Then I started looking for God to move. I talked to God more and started reading a Bible that I had in the house. It was about a year before God freed me from my loveless marriage and brought my wonderful husband Steve in my life. God started to share with me that I was going to be in ministry work with Steve. I was so scared but I decided to step out there and follow God that was 2006 and it has been incredible every since. I am still learning things about how to be what God wants me to be. Now I introduce myself like this: Hello my name is Jessica and I am a servant of God. If you want to know more about my story or how God can change the who you are email: heavenboundbikers@yahoo.com or read Romans in the Bible. God does care and he will speak to you.

 
 

 
 

Are you a Jonah?

I heard a sermon last night that posed that question. It has gotten me to thinking about my life. Years ago much like Jonah I had a prejudice against people with Drug and Alcohol addictions. I believed that they deserved to be miserable and I did not want to help them know anything about Christ. And through the years the Lord would bring people in my life to be close to me that had these problems and time and time again I was cold and harsh to them. Until the day that I found myself addicted to prescription drugs. You see I was like Jonah. The addiction I had was like the fish Jonah found himself in. I had to fess up to my prejudices I had to repent. But like Jonah I still struggle with love for these people even though not only has God healed me but I am married to a man healed from these addictions also. I know that God will give me more people to love and help with these problems and I pray now I will follow him and not run away. Do you have a prejudice? Are you running from God? Read what happened to Jonah. Let's be able to answer No I am not a Jonah.

Jessica Hudson

Do we fear God really?

Do we fear God? I mean us as Christians. In the book of Jonah the sailors that were carrying Jonah feared God when they found out who he was. Why do we as God's children not fear him? I think it is because we are comfortable with our sin and with God's punishment. We have played the blame game so long that now we just blame everything on someone else. It is just like talking to someone about salvation if they do not know they are lost they can not be saved. If we don't realize that God is punishing us thru our health, finances, children and other things then how can we know to repent. I know from experience that getting into the word of God starts to show you God's will and his punishment for our sins. So I am trying to get excited about reading God's word again and as I do I am more exposed in my sins and fear of God's judgments. I saw an interview tonight about the generation from 12-25 year olds that seems to believe that being spiritual is the same as being saved. How sad to think that we have a whole generation that does not fear God and his judgment because they have been lured into a spiritual sense of security. If you do not fear God then God will bring you down like he did David and Jonah and Me. He is in control and He is the only way.

 
 

Meet the Queen

The road west was the route, headed out to meet the Queen, Queen Wilhelmina State Park in Arkansas. We left Bryant Arkansas headed west on I-30, (Benton to the Hwy. 70 exit is the worst piece of interstate in Arkansas) and took the Hwy. 70 exit to Hot Springs were we took the Hwy. 270 By-pass around Hot Springs to the end and going Hwy. 270 west again. The weather was perfect as we cruised through the Ouachita Mountains. We stopped outside Mt. Ida at the Dairyette to stretch our legs and to get something to drink. As we stood outside waiting on our order an older couple, sitting inside, invited us to join them, clean cut folks riding a Harley, naturally they were surprised I was a Pastor. The place was clean with nice restrooms and polite, quick, service made this a good place to mark for a stop.

From there we rode on into Mena, AR. Where we stopped and filled our tank before heading up Hwy. 88, which is the Talamena Scenic By-Way this is a wonderful ride up to the park, were we spent the night at the Queen Wilhelmina Lodge. The Lodge was nice and they are beginning a renovation this year and when it is finished it will be the Queen of Arkansas again. The lodge restaurant was ok but not great, the restaurant was clean and well maintained with good service. We met another couple there they were riding from Beaumont Texas to Eureka Springs Arkansas on their Yamaha. We spent a couple hours with them talking about our church and the Lord, in the end we invited them to stop and visit us the next time they came by our way.

The next morning dawned clear and breezy and we would continue west down the Winding Steps Scenic by-Way that begins at the Oklahoma state line. This is another wonderful ride and we virtually had the road to ourselves we met one bike and one car all the way down to Talahina Oklahoma.

If you have never ridden the Talhamena and Winding stair by-way you are missing one of the best rides in the south central United States. In Talahina we looked for brunch and found an excellent place to eat at Pam's Diner located at 304 Dallas. The atmosphere was down home, the people friendly and the food excellent. On top of that the prices were low and the portions large, so bring your appetite and don't worry about your budget because you won't go broke, check them out if you are in the area.

From Talahina we had no clear route we just meandered up 270 to 128/28 to 80 to 10 to 9 to 5. Not the shortest route in fact when asked, by Jessica, if I knew where we were going I said no but if we keep heading east we would come to some place I knew and that place was Danville Arkansas. This reminded me of my life in Christ people ask what we will do next or where we are going next and I tell them I don't know but if I keep following Christ one day I will be home, home with the lord. You see we are all just sojourners here, for those who believe on Christ as our Savior this place is not our home, our home is with Christ in heaven.

Hebrews 11:13-16 tells us that many have died believing this truth of God's word,

" These all died in faith, not having received the things promised, but having seen them and greeted them from afar, and having acknowledged that they were strangers and exiles on the earth. For people who speak thus make it clear that they are seeking a homeland. If they had been thinking of that land from which they had gone out, they would have had opportunity to return. But as it is, they desire a better country, that is, a heavenly one. Therefore God is not ashamed to be called their God, for he has prepared for them a city. In we are told that once we believe on Jesus Christ as Savior we become fellow citizens of the Kingdom of God and members of God's family and home, "Ephesians 2:19-20 (ESV)

19 So then you are no longer strangers and aliens, but you are fellow citizens with the saints and members of the household of God, 20 built on the foundation of the apostles and prophets, Christ Jesus himself being the cornerstone." See we truly are just traveling through this world and isn't the motto of the true biker that, "it's not about the destination so much as the Journey." So if you are a believer on Jesus Christ, a true Child of God, enjoy the journey on your way to your true home.

 
 

Till the next stop keep the wind in your face,

Steven W. Hudson

 
 

 
 

 
 

 
 

 
 

Spring Break 2010

I normally avoid going any where special for spring break because it is usually crowded and busy. This year however we took the plunge and decided to go for it and take the kids camping at Mt. Nebo state park. I had never been there and Steve had not been since he was a kid. So, we really did not know what to expect. We left here on Tuesday morning at 9:30am in our caravan consisting of Steve on the bike, pulling the trailer, and Tiffany, Hunter, Buck (our dog) and myself in the car trailing. We decided to go up I-40 to Exit 88 Pottsville and get off. We turned left and went over the bridge and then right at the stop sign. We pulled into the shell station and noticed we were right in front of our road. We made a turn right out of the shell station and headed toward Dardanelle. Next stop sign turned left and headed straight into Dardanelle. There were signs for the park and we turned right up the mountain. There were 57 hair pin switch backs up the mountain. I was a little nervous being the 1st time Steve had pulled the trailer with the new bike. It was a beautiful day to ride. No problems pulling the trailer, even in the switchbacks. We arrived at the campground and there were only four campers there. Great! We picked our spot, #19, next to the pavilion and bathhouse. It was close enough to the playground so that the kids could play and we could see them from the camp. We set up camp which consisted of a Cabin Tent, grill, 2 airbeds and Buck's dog box. As this was our first camping of the year we had to go to town to get some things we forgot and about a mile down the road we had to stop for a Tom turkey who was strutting for his two lady friends. He was all flared out with his wingtips dragging the ground, awesome! We started a campfire and roosted some hotdogs and marshmallows to eat. It was fun letting the kids play with the other kids on the play ground while Steve and I just relaxed around the fire. We took the kids to Sunset point around 6:30 and watched the sun go down around 7:30. It was so pretty and a great place to just relax and on the way back we saw four herds of deer feeding along the highway. The kids went to bed around 8:30 and Steve and I set up looking at the stars. Wednesday morning it looked really bad, cold and cloudy. So we went on a hike to get our blood pumping. By the time we were done with the Rim trail hike (2 1/2 hours later) it was nice and warm. Steve took a ride around the mountain then we all laid down for an afternoon nap. That afternoon it got colder and windy so we built a large fire and grilled steak and chicken for supper. We tried Sunset point again but it was to cloudy. We played Uno with the kids till 9 and they went to bed. Steve and I sat around the campfire awhile and went to bed right before the rain hit and it rained it rained hard all night, but no thunderstorms. It was nice because I sleep great in the rain. Thursday morning it was foggy and still sprinkling rain so we loaded up for home. We had everything down and packed in record time, just as we got the tent rolled up and were packing it in the bag it began to rain hard. We got the kids and dog in the car while Steve put on his leathers and my helmet, which he usually wears when it is raining. We then headed down the mountain and through the switchbacks which was excellent. We went back a different way back going down Hwy. 7 to Hwy. 10 at Ola then Hwy. 9 at Perry through Williams Junction and at Crows Landing we took Hwy. 5 home. Steve got wet all the way to Ola but once we got on Hwy 10 headed to Perry it dried out some. We stopped in Perryville at a little café called Ezell's, the food was excellent and the atmosphere homey which made for a nice break. The last half of the ride was excellent with mostly sunny skies and a nice warm up that allowed Steve to dry out pretty quickly. We had a great time with no TV, cell phones or computers, just nature and each other, Praise God for these times together.

 
 

That's not what I want to hear!

Thursday, March 11, 2010

9:35 PM

That's not what I want to hear! This week I have thought about this statement a lot. Let me tell you the story behind it. We have two 4 year old little girls in our church and one of them was sitting with my mom Sunday morning. While Steve was preaching she wanted to read a book. So naturally mom gave her a Bible. The little girl after a few minutes made the statement. "He's not reading what I want to hear." Of course we as adults laugh at the story but how many times have we said that to ourselves. I know I say it all the time. God does not tell us what we want to hear, he tells us the truth. In the last days many will look for teachers that will tell them what they want to hear. Hello! we are there now. Many men of God have watered down the truth so the people can feel good about what they hear. Most of the time if I feel good about what I hear one of 2 things is happening. I am in God's will or the preacher is not telling me the truth of what God's word is saying. Lets face it the truth hurts and I am not always in God's will. So next time when you think he is not saying what you want to hear, think about why!

Jessica Hudson

Spring Time Busy Time

Thursday, March 11, 2010

9:25 PM

I feel that now that spring has sprang I find myself very busy. Between two school age home school kids, church activities, and motorcycle events heating up I meet myself coming and going. I am sure I am not the only one out there like that. So what do we do about life that is too busy? Well I for one keep a really detailed calendar with all my events. Knowing what you have to do every day keeps you focused. I also pick and choose things to get involved in and some to say no to. It is hard to say no, but you have to so that what you are doing is on track of where you want to be. I also refocus weekly on what God wants me to do. This takes prayer and much patience to listen to what God says, but when I do then things just fall into play. I don't know whether these things will work for you or not, but give them a try and spring time might be a little more enjoyable.

Jessica Hudson