Well, I’ve stepped out of my “what ever” I was in back in 1988. I tell people all the time that I’ve spent about half my life lost and half of my life saved. I think that’s the best way to put it.
On June 22, 1988 I was born again and got a new start in life. I was doing play by play football and basketball & baseball for Howard Payne and Brownwood High and then I began to preach a lot, but not at one church. I probably preached at the majority of churches in Central Texas. My testimony was, I guess it’s good now, but it was good then. It was fresh and people listened. I did about every kind of sharing of testimony and preaching that was known to mankind. I shared my testimony, not as much as I should have, but about all I could. Then believe it or not I started doing revivals. I just went – I started to say all out – but I went all out for what I thought the Lord wanted me to do.
I was okay because health wise I could do just about anything until, I don’t know, I guess it was about three years ago or so. Now, I don’t know how much less I could do. Right now I do a Sunday morning show on the radio, host a men’s Bible Study on Monday night, and I preach at my church which is Center City Baptist. I never get a call anymore. I literally did several revivals in my life, but it’s gotten down to just about nothing.
That’s what I kind of wanted to talk with you about today. In the last few years I had to stop doing Brownwood Lion football, basketball and baseball and Howard Payne basketball, football and baseball and all that. In fact, when you throw in baseball – I just got to where I physically couldn’t do them anymore. I just physically couldn’t do them. The revivals, I don’t know if I could or not, but I think I still could, but that’s a lot of work. So, I had to give up Brownwood football, basketball and baseball as well as Howard Payne football and basketball and all that so that went by the wayside. I can barely walk. I can barely use my hands anymore because of advanced essential tremor. Everything I used to do I can’t do any more. I just can’t do those things anymore. I’d like to think I can and maybe I could, but those are the two main things I’ve given up – revivals and sports – and all that stuff.
I still do this column and I still do the men’s Bible study on Monday nights, and I still preach at Center City Baptist Church. Those are about the only things that I’m allowed to do anymore.
You know, the things that I have looking forward to will be going to Heaven and that will happen when I die. I don’t know how long that’s going to be now. I feel like the walls are kind of closing in on me. So, on this anniversary of my really being born again, it means a whole lot to me! A whole lot to me! It’s afforded me so many opportunities in this life and that will pale in comparison to what I get in death, but that’s probably not going to happen real soon – I hope.
This is about my 37th year of doing this and I couldn’t do any of this without help from Linda (my wife), Carl Wayne, Abram at HPU as well as all the others. I just wanted to say thank you and I love all of you.
Until next time, so long everybody.
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‘Out of the Box’ with Dallas Huston is published each Monday morning at BrownwoodNews.com. Dallas was the radio voice of the Brownwood Lions and Howard Payne Yellow Jackets for more than 55 years. He currently is Pastor of Center City Baptist Church and hosts a Men’s Bible Study in Brownwood on Monday evenings. Your comments are welcome at [email protected].