Humble Beginnings?

Yesterday after church we were invited back to the Oak Grove church for a pitch-in dinner to welcome Karen and I to the church. I must say that it was really a great dinner. Of course the food was excellent, but what made this dinner stand out in my mind was the way that people stayed around after they had eaten. Most dinners after church seem to follow the pattern that as soon as the first person says that they need to leave, suddenly everyone is packing up and getting ready to go home.

After dinner was over, people sat around and were talking and relaxing. One of the members brought out his guitar and started playing a few gospel songs and within minutes he had 6-10 people standing around singing along. I couldn’t let this opportunity slide by, so I found my way over and joined in for about an hour or more of singing and playing music. (I should have ran and got my guitar)

In reality, Karen and I finally left at 3:30 (the dinner began at noon) because I had a 4:00 visitation scheduled and I was about out of time. When I returned from the visitation at 5:30, there were still people there although it looked like things were beginning to break up.

The best thing that came from the dinner was the commitment of all of those who were singing to come on Sunday and we are going to sing “Leaning on the Everlasting Arms” as a special song during worship.

Could this be the beginning of a praise team or choir?

Blessings

Always Something To Do...

Saturdays are always busy days in the life of a pastor. I have been up since 6:30, went to breakfast with a parishioner, came home and caught up on emails, and now I am getting ready to head out for a visitation. (and it’s only about 9:00AM)

Last night we went downtown to the band concert on the square where Fountain Church was serving the refreshments. I have been to these kinds of activities before and too be honest, I thought that the amount of food and the preparations that were made were pretty optimistic. Wow was I ever wrong. We had a line almost for the entire evening. We sold out of all the pies, we ran out of hot dog and hamburger buns, and we went through all of the homemade ice cream. I have no idea how much money was made, but it was certainly an outstanding evening.

In addition, it was a gorgeous night. Oh my goodness, it was cool, and the band was really good. They played basically big band music which I am a big fan of. After it was over, Karen and I went on a carriage ride around the town. (Guess how much that cost? Only $5 apiece!) Last time we went on something like that it was about $15 each, so that was really nice. We got to meet Blaze and Bell (the horses) who were sisters. Before coming to live with the people who were giving the carriage rides, they worked on an Amish Farm, so my guess is that they really have a life of luxury now, spending their days frolicking in the meadow and then only having to work a few hours each week pulling people around the small towns and community events in Southern Indiana.

The rest of today I have to finish my sermon and finalize preparations for worship tomorrow. Wouldn’t you think that I would have this all done before Saturday? I guess procrastination is a hard habit to break, even though I don’t really feel like I have procrastinated at all this week. Too much to do and not enough hours to get it done:)

Blessings

Better Day Today...

Today has been a much better day. I hope that I never have to go through a day as difficult as yesterday was ever again, but reality says that there are more difficult days ahead, and maybe that is why God gives us these little creatures to love and care for so that we can truly grasp and understand the goodness of God’s creation and the idea of unconditional love.

On a brighter note, I stepped on the scale this morning and found that I have now lost 14lbs in the past about three weeks. I really haven’t been working on my diet, but I believe that the early morning trips to the YMCA are beginning to make a difference.

I mentioned that on the first day, I basically made it one lap in the pool and decided that I had gone about as far as I could go. This morning I went 7 laps and knew that I could go further but ran out of time. (I had also spent about 30 minutes on the treadmill) I have decided that tomorrow I am going to skip the bike and treadmill and go straight to the pool. I want to see how many laps I can go if all I do is concentrate on swimming laps. I believe that I read that 36 laps is a mile. That may be a bit ambitious, but I think I will shoot for 20 laps and see what happens.

Good thing that they have lifeguards on duty, I may need them:)

Blessings

My Broken Heart...

As I sit here in my office this evening, I have a very heavy heart. I had to do something today that was perhaps the most difficult thing that I have ever done and I pray that I never have to do it again. This afternoon we took Terri (and Karen’s) dog Mimi to the vet and had her put to sleep. I have known for over a year now that this needed to be done, I have secretly hoped that she would just pass a way in her sleep some night dreaming about chasing rabbits (or more realistically for Mimi, dreaming about an endless bowl of food, Mimi loved to eat)

Mimi couldn’t see very well anymore, here eyes were continually coated with a thick film of mucus that wouldn’t go away regardless of treatment. She had a terrible skin condition that has been a source of perpetual scratching for many years, no matter how many treatments the vet gave her to try and stop it. She had a kidney problem that left blood in her urine, she didn’t really have any bladder control anymore, she lost most of her teeth, her hair was falling out and she often cried out in pain for no apparent reason. But even with this laundry list of ailments, the decision was an incredibly painful one, and although, perhaps, it could have been postponed for a little while longer, I knew that it was time and in addition, circumstances in Terri’s life realistically made the decision for her.

This afternoon, Terri, Karen and I took Mimi to the local animal hospital petted her and told her what a good dog she was. We watched as the veterinarian aid took her away to put an IV into her so that the shot could be given to her as easily as possible, and when she returned we spent a few more minutes with her remembering the joy that she had brought to our family. When we were ready (as ready as we could be) I held her in my arms as Terri petted her and comforted her while the Doctor gave her the final shot. Tears streamed down my face as I thought about all that she had meant to us and I continued to hold her little black furry head as the shot began to take effect. I felt her little body go limp in my arms and it took every once of strength I had not to break down completely. Sometimes it really stinks to try and be some type of emotionally strong male figure when your heart would rather just say the heck with it. It has been a very long time since anything has hurt this much.

The doctor then checked her heart and said that she was gone. As we left the office, I took Karen and Terri back to the house and then I had to leave almost immediately for an appointment. I know now that I should have canceled the rest of the day, but I had no idea the impact that little black ball of fur would have on me. I managed to make it through the rest of my appointments but my thoughts and heart were with Mimi and Terri and Karen. I simply could not get the image of Mimi’s little black lifeless body lying on the table as we left the office out of my mind.

I know that there is nothing more important that we can do as a pet owner than be prepared to make those difficult decisions about life and death and suffering. I know that the last act of compassion that we can do for them is to be there with them and for them as they close their eyes for the last time. But this evening as I type though the blur of tears in my eyes, I can’t think of anything more painful.

I wish that tonight I could have written about the joy that Mimi brought to us and tell some of the wonderful Mimi stories that we have. But for now, the pain is too fresh and the sorrow is too heavy. Rest in peace little Mimi dog, rest in peace.

Blessings

I Can't Believe They Pay Me To Do This...

I have to admit that I am really looking forward to tomorrow. One of my parishioners is taking me up to Lake Patoka for a fishing expedition. It has been a long time since I have had a chance to do much fishing and I am really looking forward to the opportunity to spend some quality time out on the water.

We are starting to get more comfortable with our new home. We have met a whole lot of people and we are beginning to find our way around without getting totally lost.

We have also continued to be faithful with our early morning trips to the YMCA, although tomorrow we won’t be able to go because I have a 6:30 AM appointment with a fishing buddy, Uh I mean parishoner. I told Karen that she could go to the Y without me and she said “Uhhhhhhh NO!” Well at least I tried:)

It seems like each day my calendar gets a little more full. I have really been enjoying my role as full time pastor, especially when I can spend a morning at the lake and call it work:)

Blessings

Catching My Breath...

This evening feels like a good time to relax a little bit and catch my breath. It seems like we have been going almost nonstop for about as long as I can remember. I had thought that most of today would be a restful day, but it really hasn’t worked out that way. We began the day with a trip into Louisville to visit a parishioner at Jewish Hospital. I have actually been to four hospitals that I had never been in before just in this last week alone. They were all extremely user friendly places with the exception of Jewish Hospital in Louisville. Jewish Hospital seems to make no effort to help people figure out where they are going. I parked in the parking garage, went down the elevator and arrived at a long corridor into a lobby, after a few minutes of looking I discovered that this wasn’t even the Hospital building. We had to leave that building, go across a courtyard and then into the actual hospital. I stopped by the front desk to inquire what room my parishioner was in and the lady checked a sheet of paper and said “Your boy is in room…” I smiled to myself and headed up to the room for a very nice visit.

This afternoon we went to Abby and Jacobs wedding. Terri was the Matron of Honor and the entire wedding was just beautiful.

My sermon is finished for tomorrow, everything seems to be ready and now I think that we will order a pizza and watch a movie. This will be a new experience for us. It has been almost 5 years since we have been able to pick up the phone, call Papa Johns Pizza and have them deliver it. That should make for a nice relaxing evening.

Oh, and did I mention that tomorrow is our 29th wedding anniversary? That should make for a very good day:)

Blessings

Sometimes ministry can be down right fun...

This has been really an excellent week. We have started settling into a new normal, we have been consistent with our exercise program, my schedule of visitations has been a great blessings, and we have begun to see God working in some very significant ways in our life. We are really counting our blessings and looking forward to what God is going to do next!

Today has been a long day! (but good) I am heading to bed!

Blessings