Tuesday

Ready for a ride in the sun

Good morning! Happy Tuesday to you! It's going to be a little cooler today, which is fine. We'll enjoy whatever comes our way today.

Yesterday was a good day. Kedra and I went with Ben to Ivy Tech to get him all fixed up. He is going to attend there in the fall to study criminal justice. His ultimate goal is to be a state trooper. It is difficult to become one, but this course of study will certainly help him. He is going to take some classes on line and will attend others in Bloomington and Bedford. Ben is a good young man and we are proud of him.

On our way back yesterday morning we had just enough time to stop in and see Cora. Funny how that works out. She was sweet, pleasant, and cute, as usual. She laughed out loud at one of my goofy moves, so you know what that means. Yes, I will continue with that same move for a while. I don't care what others think.

You know my old line about ministry and interruptions. "I used to complain about interruptions to my ministry until I realized the interruptions are my ministry." That's a paraphrase of something Henri Nouwen taught me. Yesterday I got an urgent call from someone quite upset. A family had learned a relative had been killed in a car wreck. I went immediately and found out more. It happened two years ago but the family just found out yesterday. The deceased was a family member who had been out of communication for a long time. It was/is a sad situation.

Later in the day, I managed to get a 30 mile ride in. It was pleasant and what I needed physically, mentally, and spiritually. It was so pleasant and refreshing. Last night I was able to wash a lot of other stuff away with a one mile swim. This was added to a very short run before the sun came up. My hamstrings are so tight you could bend nails on them, I think. I am in the early stages of rehab.

Rand had a good Boston Marathon. He is an inspiration to me in lots of ways and has been for a long time. He is a tough-minded endurance athlete. He gutted out this marathon on a bad knee and low miles.

In my reading this morning I came across one of my favorite passages regarding discernment. It's in 1 Chronicles 12:32.

From the tribe of Issachar, there were 200 leaders of the tribe with their relatives. All these men understood the signs of the times and knew the best course for Israel to take.

Our culture is rapidly changing and has been for the last several years. Guiding a church through all this is challenging to say the least. I like, also, something Napoléon said. It goes something like this:

The role of a leader is to define reality and to provide hope for a good future.

That's my paraphrase and what I see as my job. Couple those two statements and move on. It begins with honesty about yourself and the situation. That's the best policy, of course.

OK, that's way more than you bargained for today. Thanks for stopping by.