Notes from the Narrow Road: Observations from a pilgrim traveling along The Way

Kim got Michael a digital camera when Kathryn was born. Here are samples of his art... I took this picture to show him how the camera worked. Mommy and Sissy Grammy with weird sticky thing on her face. Tennyson the cat Popa saying "cheese" Self portrait of the artist and the video camera The First Bath Daddy in the Hall

This past Sunday at FBC Rockport we continued our sermon series on images of spiritual leadership from 1 Samuel. For two weeks now we have looked at what spiritual leadership in the home might look like. We have some good images from Elkanah and Hannah, the parents of Samuel. We have some poor images from Eli, the priest at the Tabernacle who raised Samuel. Yahweh’s accusation against Eli was that he honored his two sons more than he honored God. Eli’s sons, Hophni and Phinehas, were terrible priests because they did not do what God wanted, they did as they wanted. Their poor public behavior was actually hindering the worship life of Israel and keeping people away from God. God held Eli responsible, at least in part, for their sin, and promised dire consequences for Eli’s entire family. At the same time, Yahweh promised to raise up for Himself a faithful priest who would do what was in God’s heart and mind. I am telling our people that this is the essence of spiritual leadership: God

Both mother and daughter are doing well. Kathryn is eating well now and has aced all her diaper exams! Kim has been up and moving around for over 24 hours now. They tell us they should be discharged on Wednesday afternoon. Those were the only new pictures I had on my cell phone. I'll try to post some better ones later.

Kathryn is here now. She was born Sunday night, 5:57 p.m., and weighed 7 pounds, 10 oz., and measured 20.25 inches long. Kim was in labor since about 9:00 a.m. Saturday. After hours of waiting and miles of walking around that hospital, Kim never progressed beyond 6 cm. Every time we came close to making a decision about what to do next, it seems Kathryn would change the game on us and we would have to wait for another couple of hours to see what would happen next. We almost went to the OR at least twice before we finally did because Kathry would do this or that. She was letting us know she was in charge. After whe was born I stood with her in the nursery while they cleaned her up and checked her out. She cried for a while and then got real calm and collected. I watched her as she sized me up with her eyes, took a good look around the room, and then looked at me and kind of smirked knowingly. I got the distinct impression that she was very much amused by everything that had gone on the

Kim's doctor told her that she has had no change in two weeks. Kim has another doctor's appointment next Thursday, a week from today. If she has not progressed by then they will likely schedule a c-section. If she has progressed by then, it is likely they will induce labor. It is also possible she is going into labor at this moment. So there won't be any new news for another week unless the baby comes before then. By the way, 231 children heard the gospel presentation during our VBS the other night! Please be in prayer for these little ones and for our adults who are working with them.

We are still awaiting for Kathryn to indicate that she is ready to emerge. Kim has the nursery ready, Michael has helped her finish all the thank you notes, and so we wait. Some men from our church came and helped my father put together a swingset/slide/fort for Michael while I was away at school last week. He has been too busy playing to be impatient for his little sister to show. And it is just as well. Our Vacation Bible School is this week. On our second night, a Monday, we had 218 children, another 15-20 in the nursery, plus about 110 or so adult and youth workers. All I can say is that I am glad I am not in charge. I am so thankful for Gayle and for her love of Jesus, our children, and for all our workers. She has done an amazing job. So have all the adults and students who have put this thing together. It is a wonderful thing to behold. Technically I have finished my first term for school, but I still have four books to read and write critical reviews on before I am done for the