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Obituary

Paul Dobbins

Paul Dobbins, 36, of Amarillo died Tuesday, Nov. 24, 2009.
Services will be at 2 p.m. Saturday in Hillside Christian Church Chapel with Greg Corona officiating. Burial will be in Llano Cemetery by Boxwell Brothers Funeral Directors, 2800 Paramount Blvd.

Paul was born Oct. 8, 1973, in Amarillo to Johnny and Cindy Dobbins. He graduated from Dumas High School in 1992, and he earned his bachelor's degree from West Texas A&M.

He married Sheree Herald on Jan. 12, 1996, in Amarillo. He attended Hillside Christian Church.

Paul played sports of all kinds and was an avid sports fan. He shared his love of sports with his children, taking them to sporting events and teaching them how to play golf. He had a passion for family time, always putting his family first.

He was preceded in death by his grandparents, Arlie and Sue Burchfield.

Survivors include his wife, Sheree Dobbins; three children, Peyton Dobbins, Trevor Dobbins and Kesleigh Dobbins, all of Amarillo; his parents, Johnny and Cindy Dobbins of Dumas; a brother, John Dobbins and wife Heather of Dumas; his grandparents, Wilson and Martha Dobbins of Amarillo; his stepgrandmother, Marie Burchfield of Amarillo; a father-in-law, Doyle Herald and wife Kay of Hooker, Okla.; a mother-in-law, Jackie Clutter and husband Dennis of Hooker; a brother-in-law, Jeff Herald and wife Kathy of Hooker; and a nephew, nieces and a host of friends.

The family suggests memorials be to Dobbins Children Fund, in care of any Amarillo Community Federal Credit Union.

Celebration of Life

The celebration of Paul's life will be
Saturday, November 28
2:00 PM
Hillside Christian Church

A journey

It is difficult to believe, it has been nearly 24 hours since we realized Paul was in his final hours. Paul was called home to be with his Savior the morning of Tuesday, November 24th. We are still getting arrangements ready, and I will let you know them soon.

I want to thank you for all the prayers along the way. Please continue to pray for me and the children because we will have some tough days ahead.

Remember

Life is a journey, not a destination.

Paul has reached his destination, and although I had wanted his miracle to be here on earth; his miracle is in Heaven with eternal life.

Phillippians 4

I really feel called to share Phillippians 4 with you today. Please read and I will share below what I has helped me the last couple of days.

1 Dear brothers and sisters, I love you and long to see you, for you are my joy and the reward for my work. So please stay true to the Lord, my dear friends.

2 And now I want to plead with those two women, Euodia and Syntyche. Please, because you belong to the Lord, settle your disagreement.

3 And I ask you, my true teammate,* to help these women, for they worked hard with me in telling others the Good News. And they worked with Clement and the rest of my co-workers, whose names are written in the Book of Life.

4 Always be full of joy in the Lord. I say it again--rejoice!

5 Let everyone see that you are considerate in all you do. Remember, the Lord is coming soon.

6 Don't worry about anything; instead, pray about everything. Tell God what you need, and thank him for all he has done.

7 If you do this, you will experience God's peace, which is far more wonderful than the human mind can understand. His peace will guard your hearts and minds as you live in Christ Jesus.

8 And now, dear brothers and sisters, let me say one more thing as I close this letter. Fix your thoughts on what is true and honorable and right. Think about things that are pure and lovely and admirable. Think about things that are excellent and worthy of praise.

9 Keep putting into practice all you learned from me and heard from me and saw me doing, and the God of peace will be with you.

10 How grateful I am, and how I praise the Lord that you are concerned about me again. I know you have always been concerned for me, but for a while you didn't have the chance to help me.

11 Not that I was ever in need, for I have learned how to get along happily whether I have much or little.

12 I know how to live on almost nothing or with everything. I have learned the secret of living in every situation, whether it is with a full stomach or empty, with plenty or little.

13 For I can do everything with the help of Christ who gives me the strength I need.

14 But even so, you have done well to share with me in my present difficulty.

15 As you know, you Philippians were the only ones who gave me financial help when I brought you the Good News and then traveled on from Macedonia. No other church did this.

16 Even when I was in Thessalonica you sent help more than once.

17 I don't say this because I want a gift from you. What I want is for you to receive a well-earned reward because of your kindness.

18 At the moment I have all I need--more than I need! I am generously supplied with the gifts you sent me with Epaphroditus. They are a sweet-smelling sacrifice that is acceptable to God and pleases him.

19 And this same God who takes care of me will supply all your needs from his glorious riches, which have been given to us in Christ Jesus.

20 Now glory be to God our Father forever and ever. Amen.

21 Give my greetings to all the Christians there. The brothers who are with me here send you their greetings.

22 And all the other Christians send their greetings, too, especially those who work in Caesar's palace.

23 May the grace of the Lord Jesus Christ be with your spirit.

So here it is...the apostle Paul reminds us Phillippians 4:6-7 in my condensed version.

Don't worry, just pray. And you will experience God's peace.

I Believe

I want to say that there is hope, Paul has never given up on hope. He is a fighter, when he sets out to do a job, he gets it done. This journey has been difficult but we know how truly blessed we are. We are blessed to have so many walking with us and praying for us in this time. There have been difficult days for Paul, but it seems on those days I am able to lift him up. And when I have had difficult days, Paul is able to lift me up. God is good, He is always there for us.

In July of 2008 Paul and I did some updating on the bathrooms in our home. We tore out wallpaper, textured and painted. Paul is one that starts and finishes his goals. Like when he paints, he goes around the room once. He does the cut in work, paints again. Never even stopping long enough to wash the brush.

When the bathrooms were finished, I wanted to put a saying on the wall above the mirror. I researched, googled, looked through catalogs and magazines. I wanted to find that special saying. I searched Bible verses and other sayings. I was patient knowing when I found the right saying, it would just jump out at me. It took me 6 months to find the perfect saying. And in January I put it on the wall. I remember it vividly. It was Sunday and Paul was watching sports on TV as always. I pulled him away long enough to help me measure so I would get this inspiration on the wall just perfectly.

I was able to get the saying on the wall and I was so proud. It was the early morning hours of the following day that the pain began for Paul. January 19th. He spent the next day getting scans and seeing doctors. It was a little over a month before he was diagnosed with colorectal cancer stage 4.

Here is the saying I put on the wall…

Everyday holds the possibility of a Miracle.

I still Believe.

Hospice care

Paul has moved to BSA Hospice. One of our dear friends has organized a prayer vigil for Paul.

Prayer Vigil for Paul Dobbins & family
Saturday, November 21
8 am to 8 pm

Amarillo House of Prayer
4808 S Bonham

There will be a sign in the foyer saying "Paul D" with an arrow pointing to the room reserved for him.