Friday

My family.

Friday! Here we go. I'm sleepy from watching all the pre-royal wedding coverage. NOT! So I wake up in the 5 o'clock hour and turn on the TV to catch some weather. What do I see? Royal wedding. Click (next channel). Royal wedding. Click (next channel). Royal wedding. Click (next channel). Wow!

I am little sleep deprived today. Kedra and I attended the Mitchell Chamber of Commerce dinner last night. The ReGeneration Store received a nice award during the dinner, so I, along with a couple other board members, was there to receive it. The food was good, and the speaker, Lowell Grissom - Virgil's brother, was captivating. I could have listened to him for a long time. He did a masterful job of speaking and showing video. It made me proud to be from Mitchell. Also, Grissom's parents were faithful members of the church where I work. They were very kind and humble people. It was nice to talk about them with their youngest son.

It has been an unusual week or recognition. Monday Bryantsville Hunger Relief Project was recognized on the floor of state house of representatives and I was priviledged to be there for that, and then last night. Both Capstone Ministries (ReGen) and BHRP are really neat works that only work because of many many people who do all kinds of things. I am glad to be associated with both of them.

The sermon is not done. BOO! Oh well, I will try finish it, along with the slides, this morning. I also need to move about 20 mattresses from Camp. We are going to ship them to Honduras. Then I have a lunch meeting with an elder or two and a man from the Center for Congregations. We are trying to figure out how to best use the space that our two church buildings provide. This organization, funded by Lilly Endowment, provides grant money for studies.

IF I can get everything done today, I hope to ride my bike mid-afternoon. I have 27 miles of running for the week so far, and I plan on getting at least 8 tomorrow. I am going to Louisville to watch a lot of my friends run the Louisville marathon and half marathon. I figure I'll jump in and run some miles with some of them. I hope to provide some encouragement.

Silence

How do you like silence? I am becoming more and more a fan of it. I often ride without the radio on. It's a good time to pray. [I keep my eyes open.] It's a good time to think. I think too many of us have way too much noise in our lives. Of course some are trying to drown out the voices of a reality they don't want to face.

There is another kind of silence that I find so hard. This morning I read a really good post about it. You can read it here. Silence is so hard to interpret, and it often leads to insecurity and/or anger, it seems to me. I know there is a time to be silent, but there is also a time to speak. Consideration of the other should be a dominant factor in which one is required.

Thursday

"Hey lady, way to use your head!" I promise I did not shout that at this lady. I wanted to but exercised extreme discipline and self-control.

OK, here I am on Thursday morning pretty well clueless about how the sermon will go this week. My class last night was different. I didn't feel like I did a very good job of leading, eliciting, but we did have some interesting thoughts presented from time to time. I need to back off from the text, my study, and the class, and really look at what needs to happen with the passage. I did find that the discussion about the short/long ending of Mark's gospel is probably not going to get much time on Sunday. It's either uninteresting or disturbing.

I like the way Mark's gospel ends abruptly in verse 8. It's kind of the way his gospel begins - all of a sudden! We all have to wrestle with what it means to follow a risen Christ who is invisible. Frightening stuff when you think about it, and doesn't this push us right back to Faith?

Hebrews 11:1

Now faith is being sure of what we hope for and certain of what we do not see.

The disciples were called to go back to Galilee, where it all began, and start over. This time they were to follow a Christ that was crucified (and risen), taking up their own cross, dying to self, believing/hoping in resurrection.

No.

I have a really hard time saying a certain word. NO. I don't like to say it. Sometimes I don't like saying it because I don't want to disappoint someone. At other times I don't want to say it because I want to do what I'm being asked to do.

This morning a good friend suggested I should come to a certain event that supports a really good work. I laughed and said that I love the work and would enjoy the event, but I need to say "no." This lead to a very friendly conversation about how many good things there are to be a part of, but there is just not enough time or energy. I think the energy part - emotional energy, desire, whatever you want to call it - is the biggest problem. Most of us just can't be that interested in but only a few things.

That's actually one of my frustrations in life. I would love to do so many other things and be involved in so many other works, including spending more time with specific people, but I don't have enough time and energy. We talked this morning about how a lot of people have this same problem and frustration and then others complain about having nothing to do or choose to do nothing. Such is life...

It all comes down to priorities and balance, which are fairly subjective I suppose. I know that in the context of seeking first the Kingdom of God (Matthew 6:33) my family gets top priority. I've done a lot of things wrong, but I feel that I've done fairly well with my family. It was/is an intentional move. I won't put others before them. Things related to loving God with all that I have and loving my neighbor as myself mean that church and service are high priorities. Of course there are so many ways to do all that. Choices.

My physical health is important to me, and I love endurance running and biking. They keep me healthy and help me deal with all the stress that comes with the work I do. The side benefit of my choice to be involved in these activities are the wonderful friends I have discovered. I thoroughly enjoy spending time with them.

I'm not sure why I wrote all this, but there it is!

Wednesday

How's your Wednesday going to be? Basically, the only thing we can control is our attitude, so I am praying for a good one. That should be the case everyday, and I don't see any particular challenge today that will be any more difficult than another day.

Wow, what a rambling start to this post! Oh well, I didn't want you to think that I am upset about anything in particular. Everything is clipping along just fine. The rain is about over, I think, and that is a good thing. I am needing some sunshine!

I put a picture of our semi trailer up for a couple of reasons. First, if you can collect some thing to put in it, I would be grateful. The other thing, less positive, is that graffiti artists (well, they are not artists, but I can't think of a good term for them...) put some obscene pictures on the trailer AND on the back side of our family life center, along with some of the same images on the storage facility doors we look at when we exit our assemblies. Really nice. We talked to the police, and they are going to talk to some of the kids who hang around a lot.

This morning I am going to grab a quick 5 mile run, load a bunch of mattresses up from Camp to ship to Honduras, and be in Bryantsville by 10 a.m. to load a semi with 700 bags of corn. I need the rain to quit soon to make all that a little more enjoyable.

I guess I better go for now...

Tuesday a.m.

Think we'll get any rain? I went to Indy yesterday morning and didn't come back until last night after 6. The White River rose a lot while I was gone yesterday.

I went to Indy yesterday, along with fellow board members, to be presented on the floor of the house of representative for being a part of the Bryantsville Hunger Relief Project. We are celebrating 25 years of service. Eric Koch arranged for all this, and it was a pretty neat experience. We were supposed to be presented around 10 a.m., but once we arrived we were informed that the session had been delayed until 1.30 p.m. That's a long delay!

Fortuneately I had other things to do, so I simply readjusted my schedule. I was planning on doing the house thing and then going up to Carmel to see a lady in a hospital and then running on the Monon trail. I went to Carmel and then came back to the House. Running had to wait. The presentation went well. I really like Eric Koch. I've worked with him a fair amount over the last 2-3 years on a board for Oakland City U. He is a genuinely good person I believe.

I decided to stop in Bedford on my home and run with my friends there. That worked out just about right, and I had one of the best runs I've had in a while. There was a light rain and I felt good. A lot of the run was under an 8 minute mile pace. I'm not really training for anything right now, so it was good to have a faster run.

Biking sure has been hit hard by the rain. Oh well. There will be plenty of opportunities coming up. I have about 3 weeks to build up to a 65 mile ride at Crane. It could be ugly! That's OK.

I hope to get back in a flow of writing this week, so check back from time to time. For now I need to go get organized.

Risus Paschalis

Good Friday

Read this.

Thursday

Hey, how are you? I know a lot of people have been without power after the recent storm. We lost it for about half an hour, so we are thankful. We lost it right at the beginning of the storm so I had no way of checking radar. This led us to make a move to the basement - a rare thing. I usually ride out the storms upstairs, especially if I can watch them on radar and see what's going on. Needless to say, we survived just fine.

Yesterday's weather was quite a shock to the system, wasn't it? Tuesday was not that warm but still... Low 40s and wind was just not that much fun. Oh well we will take what we get and enjoy it; at least we should.

I'm in a different routine this week, and that's fine with me. Our faith tradition does not celebrate Holy Week but it does come into play as we prepare for Easter Sunday, knowing that there will be a larger crowd. We try to make our Sunday assembly more directed toward those who rarely come.

I am looking forward to this weekend. Lester, Maddie, and Luke are all coming home! Saturday night we will have a nice meal together. Ribs! I am starting to get psychologically prepared for smoking. I strive to become "one" with the smoker, the wood, the meat... Most of you won't understand. It's OK.

Biking is going to be a challenge tomorrow. I was hoping to ride 40 miles, but the forecast is not looking too promising. I signed up for a 65 mile ride at Crane for Saturday May 21st. I would like to get a 50 miler or two in before then; shouldn't be a problem if the weather starts improving in the next week or two. Running is going fine.

Back to work...

Good way to start your day

“Of all the commandments, which is the most important?” “The most important one,” answered Jesus, “is this: ‘Hear, O Israel, the Lord our God, the Lord is one. Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind and with all your strength.’ The second is this: ‘Love your neighbor as yourself.’ There is no commandment greater than these.”

Our Father in heaven,
hallowed be your name,
your kingdom come,
your will be done
on earth as it is in heaven.
Give us today our daily bread.
Forgive us our debts,
as we also have forgiven our debtors.
And lead us not into temptation,
but deliver us from the evil one.

God grant me the serenity
to accept the things I cannot change;
courage to change the things I can;
and wisdom to know the difference.

Living one day at a time;
Enjoying one moment at a time;
Accepting hardships as the pathway to peace;
Taking, as He did, this sinful world
as it is, not as I would have it;
Trusting that He will make all things right
if I surrender to His Will;
That I may be reasonably happy in this life
and supremely happy with Him
Forever in the next.
Amen.

Lord, make me an instrument of your peace.
Where there is hatred, let me sow love;
where there is injury, pardon;
where there is doubt, faith;
where there is despair, hope;
where there is darkness, light;
and where there is sadness, joy.

O Divine Master, grant that I may not so much seek
to be consoled as to console;
to be understood as to understand;
to be loved as to love.
For it is in giving that we receive;
it is in pardoning that we are pardoned;
and it is in dying that we are born to eternal life. Amen


Trust in the LORD with all your heart
and lean not on your own understanding;
in all your ways acknowledge him,
and he will direct your paths.


May the words of my mouth
and the meditation of my heart
be pleasing in your sight,
O LORD, my Rock and my Redeemer.

Good morning! Kinda wet out there; could get a bit wild later. Well, in fact I guess it was wild during the night. Evidently there was a tornado warning between 2 and 3 a.m. All I know is I woke up around 3 to a huge clap of thunder and did not sleep too well after that.

Today my focus is getting ready for Easter Sunday. We celebrate the Resurrection every Sunday in worship, in communion, and we celebrate it everyday by living out our baptism. But still there is an opportunity and an expectation about Easter Sunday. The opportunity comes because people who only come to church once or twice a year show up, and I'm glad they come. The hope is that we can say or do something that will stimulate their thinking regarding their relationship with God. The expectation is that we will do something a little better, a little more, than a normal Sunday. That's what I'm working on today. It involves indoor fireworks and a laser light show. Just kidding.

I stumbled through yesterday with a severe shortage of sleep. I am old enough to know not to make too many judgments about life when I'm that tired, so I tried to keep things on the light side. I got some things done. I followed the Boston Marathon on Twitter, which was quite interesting. It was an amazing race, and it would have been nearly perfect weather to run in. I hope next year will be similar, when I plan to run it. I can't imagine how thrilling that will be!

On the physical training, which according to St. Paul "profits little" (King James Version, I think), I did a double yesterday: 6 miles of running in the morning and 15 miles of riding in the afternoon. Both went pretty well. Today I plan to run in the evening with the group in Bedford. I am wondering if it will get "stormed out."

Have a good one! Only if you want to of course. I'm not trying to tell what to do.

Reliving the past

It was a good weekend. Saturday's unpleasant weather gave way to a pretty nice day on Sunday. We had a good worship assembly, followed by a good lunch and nap.

A couple of days ago I got an email from my freshman year college roommate, John. I hadn't really talked to him since 1981. He came to my wedding in 1984, but there were so many people and little time to talk. He said he was coming to the area with his brother for a funeral and thought he might try connect. Long story short: he came to our house yesterday afternoon. We had a most pleasant visit catching up on some of the last 30 years. It was so good to see him.

It was funny that he contacted me at this time. I think I recently told you about how Rebecca went through this funny ritual on Facebook of selecting a roommate for this fall at Lipscomb. Girls would quiz each other, share information, check each other out, and then if everything matched up, one of them would, with trepidation, ask, "Do you want to room together?" It was like some weird mating ritual. I told Rebecca that I got a letter in the mail telling me that my roommate was John who lived in Virginia. That was it. Times have changed.

After John left we made our way up the Family Life Center to celebrate Eugene and Bonnie Roberts' 50th wedding anniversary. I really like Eugene. He is good man, and does a lot of things. I work with him on Bryantsville Hunger Relief Project.

Could not sleep last night so I got up at 2 a.m. for a while. Got in the Lazy Boy chair around 4 for another hour or so. Gonna be a long day...

Saturday afternoon

It's a rare Saturday afternoon post...

Let's see... where have I been and what have I been doing? Oh yeah, I think my sermon actually came together fairly well. I guess the listeners will decide that, but I kinda like it. Preaching is such a strange thing. I can never tell if a sermon "works" or not; well, sometimes I know. Most of the time I just trust the idea that God's Word does not return to him without doing something. Sometimes people will say something about sermon that happened long ago. I always like hearing stuff like that.

I ran a wet and windy 12 miler this morning. It wasn't pleasant nor was it too bad. It's done, that's the main thing. I hit 40 miles for the week again, and I really like doing that. I also got a really nice 35 mile ride in a couple of days ago. I will now add 5 more miles and try ride a 40 miler toward the end of next week. I'll be watching the weather closely, looking for the best window. I have a 65 mile ride planned at Crane on May 21.

That's enough for now. Thanks for stopping by.

So I have all this interesting information, along with all kinds of interesting thoughts but what do I do with them? Ah, the weekly Thursday sermon prep "problem." This week is going to be more challenging than most.

I am looking at the passion of Christ through the eyes of four men: Peter, Judas, the centurion, and Joseph of Arimathea. Irony! The two followers of Jesus (Peter and Judas) abandon him. The hardened soldier confesses him, and Joseph, a secret disciple we are told by John, boldly comes out (along with Nicodemus) to take the body of Jesus for burial. What does all that mean? Not exactly sure!

Adventures in Running

Wednesday is the long day, which is fine. For the last few weeks I have established a pattern of work/study, followed by a late morning long run with my second-shift friend Tim. After that I have lunch with Anthony, which is followed by a visit or two and more study, a trip home for rest and clean-up. Then comes WEM and class. I get home a litte after 8.30, after starting the day between 5 and 5.30.

Today was different since I had a MAMA meeting. As you know, faithful reader, MAMA stands for Mitchell Areas Ministerial Association. And you know, if you are a faithful reader, that I think it should be Hoosier MAMA. I crack me up! Every time! Today's meeting was good. I really like the guys who come to the meetings. We have a lot of fun together. The meeting today was at Mitchell Manor, and, wow, did they put on a nice breakfast for us! Yummy good!

I went straight from the meeting to meet Tim to run 10 miles. That was the plan anyway. At 3.65 miles into the run (had my Garmin on), we were heading east on 39th street, as we often do. As we were about half way up the street, we heard a voice of someone crying out. We both looked, and I thought it was a kid playfully hollering at us. A closer look showed that it was an old lady who had fallen. Her feet were outside, while the door was closed against the rest of her body. She was seated in a very awkward position.

We stopped, and she hollered, "Can you help me?" or something like that. (The story would be better if it had been, "help I've fallen and can't get up.") We both quickly made our way over to her. She seemed OK, but she couldn't get up. We got her up and put her in a chair. We had trouble communicating. We learned that was nearly deaf. By writing questions on a notebook we found out that her son lived about a quarter mile down the street. We got his phone number and tried to call. Busy! We decided to run down to his house.

The poor lady sent us to the wrong house. It took a long time but finally a young woman with a small girl came to the door. We asked if she was related to the fallen lady. "No, but her son lives across the road, right over there," pointing to a house. We thanked her and went across the street. No one home. We ran back to the lady's house and asked about other contacts. She couldn't think of anyone. Tim suggested we asked if she belonged to a church. "Englewood Baptist." We called there, and they knew the lady and said they would send someone down immediately.

As we waited for them to come, the son, who had been at the church and left before we called, just happened to stop by. And at the same time the young woman with the little girl, very concerned, also showed up. The son did not know anything had happened. He came in the back door and didn't know we were inside. We startled him! About that time a guy from church showed up.

Since a crowd developed, we, like the superheros that we are, excused ourselves anonymously, exclaiming, "our work here is done." My 10 miler turned into 8 miler, but, hey, sometimes you have to adjust/adapt.

Hey, sorry I've been out of my usual routine the last few days!I had a couple of days/nights in Indy doing some things with the Lilly Endowment. It was very enjoyable as usual. While there I got to see Lester and Maddie one evening for dinner - very nice! I also got to run along the canal and some of the other cool urban trails that snake through Indy. I love downtown Indy!

Now I am a bit behind on everything, but I'll catch up! One thing that is going to require a lot of attention is the container that we plan to ship to Honduras in about 4 weeks time. We have a semi trailer parked on our church parking lot. It needs to be full, but right now it is virtually empty. This wakes me up at night! I am praying that interest will catch on and that people will get active in their respective worlds collecting things.

Here are some of the things we are after:

Toiletries & Personal supplies: soap & shampoo, toothpaste & toothbrushes,mouthwash, deodorant.

Medical Supplies: Band-Aids, Acetaminophen (Tylenol)& Ibuprofen (Advil), multi-vitamins, nnti-diarrheal (Imodium), mylanta/Maalox/Pepto-Bismol, Tums & Rolaids, hydrocortisone cream/Benadryl cream/Calamine, antibiotic ointment.

Other: school supplies, soccer balls, baby items new or used (if in good condition) clothing, shoes, towels, blankets.

Just about anything that is practical is needed! Let me know if you would like more information.

Good weekend

It was another good weekend! I managed to get all my work done by midday on Friday, so I was able to take the last part of the day "off." The clouds gave way to sunshine and I hopped on my bike. I rode 30 miles. I started at the Park and rode out to the John Deere place in Bromer and then wandered back. It was a pleasant ride. I did have a pretty strong headwind coming back, but that's to be expected at this time of the year.

Friday evening we worked in the yard and got a few things done. We have a very old junk mower, which is really made up of about 3 different mowers. Ben does not like it, but I don't want to spend any money on a different one right now. It still works. It didn't have a hood on it, so I asked Ben if he would like to take the hood from yet another mower and mount it on ours. He liked the idea, so he got busy. He cut the metal, drilled the holes, and made it happen. We went to Lowes to get some bolts and spray paint. He painted the thing black. I think it looks beastly. Kedra and Rebecca just don't seem to get it. They are not excited in the least. What's with that?

Yesterday morning was the Let's Go 15K. I decided to help with it instead of running it. I really enjoyed it. It gave me a rare opportunity to watch a race. I was very proud of Michelle and Jean. I helped them work out a training plan for their respective half-marathons coming up (Michelle in Louisville and Jean in Indy). They both ran really well. Jean beat all the other women! She finished 8th overall. Wow!

We had to "black flag" the last 3 participants in the race yesterday. The weather became too threatening. Several of us waited for the worst to move through, and then we started out on our long run. I was pretty soaked and had enough after 8 miles. It gave me 35 for the week. I wanted 40, but as Mick says, "You don't always get what you want."

Today has been beautiful! Watching the end of the Masters. Wow!

Serenity Prayer

God grant me the serenity
to accept the things I cannot change;
courage to change the things I can;
and wisdom to know the difference.

Living one day at a time;
Enjoying one moment at a time;
Accepting hardships as the pathway to peace;
Taking, as He did, this sinful world
as it is, not as I would have it;
Trusting that He will make all things right
if I surrender to His Will;
That I may be reasonably happy in this life
and supremely happy with Him
Forever in the next.
Amen.

--Reinhold Niebuhr

Extravagant Living and Giving

My class last night totally messed me up! I had in mind a way the sermon should go, and they totally sidetracked it/me. I was thinking of backing away from text, talking about it and leaving it there for everyone to see. Then I was going to talk about altar and table. Because of an altar we are invited to the table. The sacrifice of Jesus allows us to eat at the table with God. The altar is about death and sad, and the table is about life and joy. I think it could have been a pretty good discussion, but it will have to wait.

The class ended up engaged in a wonderful discussion about extravagant giving. The woman in the first part of Mark 14 gives a gift that is worth nearly a year's wages. The disciples see it as a waste, but Jesus describes it as a "beautiful" expression of love. The woman is likely poor and could be pouring out an inheritance. She does it as an act of adoration and worship. My class did a masterful job of tying this with Jesus and the institution of the Lord's Supper, found a little later in chapter 14, pointing out a couple of words in common: broken and poured out. The woman's gift reflects what Jesus is about to do in his death, the very thing he is asking his disciples to remember in the future with the bread and wine.

All this has me thinking about extravagant giving/living. (It's similar to what I mentioned on Monday about a faith that looks way beyond what I can do.) What do I do in and with my life that is an over-the-top expression of gratitude, adoration, and worship? How do I give, from time to time, in a way that is extravagant? In such a way that might even makes others mutter about silly it is?

Prayer of St. Francis of Assisi

Lord, make me an instrument of your peace,

Where there is hatred, let me sow love;

where there is injury, pardon;

where there is doubt, faith;

where there is despair, hope;

where there is darkness, light;

where there is sadness, joy;

O Divine Master, grant that I may not so much seek to be consoled as to console;

to be understood as to understand;

to be loved as to love.

For it is in giving that we receive;

it is in pardoning that we are pardoned;

and it is in dying that we are born to eternal life.

Perseverance

Here we go Wednesday! Sounds windy out there, but at least it is blowing in warmth. Looks like some good biking weather is coming, which I need. I am already getting a little nervous about riding across Indiana in mid-July. Gotta get miles in and soon!

Last night I went over to Bedford for Tempo Tuesday but didn't tempo. I just ran 7 miles or so with 2-3 others who also were not tempoing. I just didn't feel like doing speed work last night. I'm in a dangerous spot about motivation and know it, so I am calling on discipline to keep me going. I don't have anything in the category of running that is pushing me right now. I've qualified for Boston, which was the biggest running goal I have ever had. Now I have to wait until September to see if I can make it in the 2012 race; registration is going to be tricky.

So here I am just persevering. I'm happy that I am maintaining 35-40 miles a week. Nothing fast or fancy but I'm leaving myself in a position to improve rapidly when I am ready. The focus, however, is shifting to the bike. Biking across Indiana will be a big challenge, since I've only really biked a little bit last year. I like a challenge...

Perseverance is an interesting thing. You keep going even when you want to quit. I hear the voices of buzzards at times but have learned, for the most part, to ignore them and to keep moving. I think that comes from years of knowing what if feels like to quit. Regret anticipated is not a bad motivator when nothing else works.

Long day ahead but I'm ready. I got enough sleep and feel ready for it to all unfold. I need to spend some time in Mark 14 today. That will be fun.

Disappointing, but...

If you looked up the work disappointing in the dictionary, then Butler's logo just might be there beside the word. I don't think I've ever seen anything like that game last night. It was a really bad time to have a really bad game. Oh well. Whatcha going do? Life does go on, and there are lots of things to be proud of.

I'm taking a day away today. Not a day off, just away. I've got some things that have piled up and some things that I want to think through. I can't take care of either in the context of normal duties/activities.

I've been thinking a lot about this prayer of Paul, found in Ephesians 3:14-21.

For this reason I kneel before the Father, from whom his whole family in heaven and on earth derives its name. I pray that out of his glorious riches he may strengthen you with power through his Spirit in your inner being, so that Christ may dwell in your hearts through faith. And I pray that you, being rooted and established in love, may have power, together with all the saints, to grasp how wide and long and high and deep is the love of Christ, and to know this love that surpasses knowledge—that you may be filled to the measure of all the fullness of God. Now to him who is able to do immeasurably more than all we ask or imagine, according to his power that is at work within us, to him be glory in the church and in Christ Jesus throughout all generations, for ever and ever! Amen.

A little over three years ago, I stood in the streets of ancient Ephesus, where the recipients of this prayer lived. I imagined life there and imagined what it was like to hear these words. I think they took them to heart better than we do, but I need to hear them and live by them, for they are directed to us as well. There is a lot in there worth contemplating.

What's this 39 degrees I see this morning? It was 73 and humid when I woke up yesterday. I would love to have some 70 degree days, sunshine, no wind. That would be my order. I will, however, take what I am given and be thankful for it. Well, at least I'm trying...

Monday, Monday

Here we go! It's game day! I will be up way past my bedtime tonight watching the Butler Bulldogs win the national championship. Why does the game not start until 9.23 p.m.? It's all about money, I'm sure.

Let's see...where were we last? I think I was getting ready to head to Nashville. We did and had a good time. Time with Earl L. is always so valuable. We went down to TN on Thursday afternoon and returned Friday night. Rebecca stayed down there until yesterday. She got to meet her future roommate and some other girls that will be attending Lipscomb with her this fall. She is so excited and so ready to be there. Senioritis - big time!

I did the usual things all weekend: run, church, etc. Now, I am hoping to get a run in before the storms hit. I'm watching the radar; could be interesting. I hope to get back on the bike this week. I got a new tire and got it on over the weekend. I am ready to roll!

Our Honduras trip is shaping up pretty well. I think we have our team pretty well set, so I am getting excited. The semi trailer in our church parking lot wakes me up some at night. How are we going to get it filled? This is a huge faith project for me. I need that, I believe.

Lately I have been pondering what it means to live by faith. Do I do anything in my life that really requires faith, or do I rely mostly on my own ability and intelligence? I wonder about the same for church. What do we do that requires faith? I know there are lots of ways to look at walking by faith, but I am wondering about the aspect that requires us to go beyond what we think we can do. How and where does that show up?

F-word redeemed and redefined!